What This Woman Needs
by bottleofwater
Summary: Amber leaves her abusive relationship with Bray to seek her own destiny and finds love in the place she least expected.
1. Telling and Leaving

TELLING AND LEAVING  
  
The oak clock in the family room chimed six.  
  
Bray was off.  
  
Amber grabbed a glass of wine and sat on the couch. Dinner was sitting on the table. It was how Bray liked it.  
  
Footsteps sounded at the front door.   
  
He was home.  
  
Amber's blood ran cold. Her hand started to shake, the red juice lapping against the sides of the glass. The day was now over. She was His again. The b!tch of the leader, as he put it so candidly.  
  
Bray opened the door.  
  
"Hey Amber," He grinned. He threw his leather briefcase on the sofa and swept Amber into a loving embrace. The rancid smell of alcohol was on his breath. He kissed her cheek, his scratchy stubble irritating her skin.   
  
"Dinner prepared, eh?" He asked.  
  
"Yes, just what you told me to make this morning -- chicken and baked potatoes. It's sitting on the table," Amber smiled and nodded toward the kitchen. She hoped that he would not find fault with her tonight. That he would not send her to the floor in a heap of sobs and bruises like he had done every week for two years.  
  
"On the table? Amber, it'll get cold..." Bray's eyes narrowed. The grin was wiped from his face, replaced by a cynical smile.  
  
"But Bray, I prepare your dinner every night before you get home--"  
  
"Are you arguing with me? God dammit, Amber. Why do you have to make our lives so miserable? Why can't I just come home and relax?" Bray whispered, threateningly.  
  
"Bray, I--"  
  
"Don't 'Bray, I--' me! I wonder what I ever saw in you," Bray sneered. He took a step forward, backing Amber into the kitchen. His hand raised in the air like a snake ready to strike, but Amber ran into the kitchen and took shelter on the other side of the table.  
  
"Come here, you little b!tch!" Bray snarled. He ran into the kitchen after her and with one sweep of his hand, knocked the dinner Amber had prepared onto the floor.  
  
Tears started to pour down Amber's face. "Bray, stop! Please, honey! Think of BJ! I know it's hard, but this isn't the way," She sobbed.  
  
"You know sh!t, Amber! You disgusting sl.ut!" Bray jumped to the side of the table where Amber was and slowly backed her into the corner.  
  
"Bray..." Amber shielded her face with her hands. Her tears would not stop coming.  
  
Bray had her completely. He was in total control again, and the hell would occur just like it always did. Amber's body convulsed, completely racked with sobs, fear, and an insane sadness.  
  
Bray grabbed Amber's shoulders gently and stared her in the eyes. He brushed a tear as it slid down her cheek. A long, uncomfortable silence followed. Bray would not stop staring at her. Amber's teeth started to chatter as her sobs turned dry and random.  
  
"Why does my son have a w.hore for a mother?" Bray said quietly.  
  
And with that he knocked Amber to the floor with a powerful blow to the side of her head.  
  
Though it happend to her many a time, it was still a shock to be hit by such force. Amber ran her hand through the spot where she had been hit. It was caked in blood.   
  
Bray did not give her the chance to recooperate. He kicked her and kicked her until Amber started to see black. Slowly, Bray's angry curses started to fade out. A gentle bliss set into Amber's mind, like a protective cloth an angel had sewn to protect her from the wrath of this man who was hurting her so.  
  
She fell unconcious.  
  
~*~  
  
When Amber woke up the next morning, she was still in the same spot where she had fell the night before. Bray had not even bothered to wash her or put her to bed. She laughed harshly at the thought that he would even attempt such a gesture.  
  
Of course he wouldn't do that, Amber, are you stupid? She thought to herself.  
  
Slowly, she propped herself up with a chair from the table and made her way to Bray Junior's room. Her heart stopped when she opened the door. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw that Bray had taken him to school. It was not healthy for him to see his mother in such a state. Ironically, Bray agreed.  
  
Now that she didn't have BJ to look after, Amber stripped off her bloody clothing and hopped in the shower. The hot water cascading down her body made her pounding headache cease somewhat, but her ribs felt cracked. She knew she had to get to a doctor.  
  
As Amber lathered her hair with shampoo, great clumps of it fell out. Entire locks of the brown and blonde were wet in her fingers. She knew it was from the stress. But she did not cry. She worried about what Tai-San, the healer of the City, would say when she went to her. Hopelessly, she flicked the wet hair out of her hands and washed the rest of the soap out, more locks falling out. It was starting to clog the drain.  
  
Amber was a prideful person. She did not want to admit that Bray beat her. She was the strong one. Amber of Justice, they called her. What would they think if they knew she was really Amber the Coward? The thought made her feel very small.  
  
She took a deep sigh. The only hope was that she could trust Tai-San with her secret. Maybe she would even give Amber some type of herb or medallion that warded off marital abuse? Tai-San was like that. Odd as she was, she was a great friend, and had become more normal as they all matured.  
  
"So do you have anything?" Amber asked dryly, taking a smoke of her ciggerate. She was at Tai-San's clinic, sitting on an old cott Tai-San had found in an alleyway and decided to use as a bed.  
  
"Yes, I have something Amber. Some advice: [I]Leave him[I]! Or he'll kill you! These injuries are horrendous, and over time your body couldn't possibly sustain them," Tai-San's eyes flashed.  
  
Amber exhaled the smoke. It drifted casually into the air, loitering in a far corner. The smell naseauted her. She smoked rarely. Strangely enough, she was not addicted. Her body seemed to ward off another thing that could harm it. She had started when she first married Bray. When he tried to force demons inside of her, she could blow them out.  
  
"Tai-San, I can't leave him. It..it would destroy BJ's life... besides. He'd come after me," Amber whispered. She flicked the rest of her ciggerate into a small ashtray at the side of the cott.  
  
"What do you mean, Amber? Is he blackmailing you? Uh-- You should stop smoking," Tai-San's voice wavered, hand on hip.  
  
Amber looked away.   
  
"He is, isn't he? That bastard..."  
  
"Don't say that! He's the father of my child," Amber snapped.   
  
"He'll be the murderer of your life if you let this continue! Listen, Amber-- I love you. I don't want to see you hurt by him. No one does! For God's sake think what this will do to BJ when he's older!"   
  
A moment of silence followed.  
  
"Do you have anything for me?" Amber finally said. She dug her hands deep into her coatpockets. Even in Tai-San's sterilized white doctor's office, the chilly November breeze blew in through cracks in what used to be an old grocery shop.  
  
Tai-San turned to face the wall. "Yes."  
  
"What is it?"   
  
Tai-San didn't answer.  
  
"Tai-San?"   
  
She took a deep breath and swiftly turned back around.  
  
"What I am about to say could change everything, but for a huge price. I'm not sure if I should tell you," Tai-San said softly. She fumbled with the stethescope hanging around her neck.  
  
"Say it," Amber demanded. Her voice wavered.  
  
"There is something that can help you. It is an underground movement called The Women's Liberation Operation or, the WLO. Two women in Sector 9 run it. It's for...abused women and their children-- they change their identities and move to remote Sectors of the City so they can leave their husbands."  
  
Amber's eyes widened. Give up her identity? Lose everything she'd work so hard for?  
  
"What?" Tears filled her eyes and splashed onto her bruised cheeks.  
  
"It's an option. I would reccomend it, but the decisions is yours and yours alone," Tai-san counseled.  
  
"Tai-San, I just can't leave like that! Start over? No. No! No! It was too hard when my parents died; I can't do that all over again. Mourn myself and after, begin a new life!" Amber sobbed. She was sick of choosing. Of the pain that came along with the decision she made everyday-- to stay and take the abuse.   
  
Dammit, why can't he just leave me alone? Amber thought. Why does he have to hit me? Damn him! Damn him! I hope he rots in hell! She started to snarl, tears violently pouring.  
  
"You can keep contact with a few close friends. They'll help you with the transition period; for moral support. You just have to make sure you can trust them."  
  
"I haven't even decided if I want to consider this as anything!" Amber bit her lip, attempting to hold back the sobs that wanted to burst forth her. She didn't want anyone's pity.  
  
"Than go home tonight. Relax; take a bath. Make the decision," Tai-San brushed her hand across Amber's in a gesture of friendship.  
  
"And if he touches me?"  
  
Tai-San's eyes turned dark.  
  
"Than you get BJ and you get the hell out of there."  
  
Amber returned home alone.  
  
And like every night, she put dinner on the table -- tomato soup, cornbread, and cider -- and sat on the sofa in the living room drinking a glass of wine, waiting for Him to come home.  
  
As she watched the clock slowly tick, a device she swore was secretly designed only to lengthen her suffering, she was grateful that BJ was at a friend's playing. Another night of Bray's episodes BJ didn't need.  
  
Amber took a sip of her wine.  
  
Tick.  
  
Tock.  
  
Tick.  
  
Tock.  
  
Tick.  
  
Tock.  
  
Tick.  
  
Tock.  
  
Tick.  
  
Tock.  
  
She drummed her fingers on her thigh. Where was he?  
  
Tick.  
  
Tock.  
  
The door opened.  
  
Bray.  
  
A look of complete and utter anger on his face.  
  
"You f.ucking b.itch!" He slammed the door and threw his briefcase at her. It missed and smashed a photograph on the endtable. A picture from their wedding day -- Bray gently shoving cake down Amber's mouth and laughing -- shattered into a thousand pieces.  
  
"Honey-" Amber stood up, trembling in fear.  
  
"Don't fu.cking honey me! I can't believe you told Tai-San!" He gripped Amber's shoulders and shook them without mercy. Tears fell down Amber's face in rivers of grief. Tai-San had told him?!  
  
She bit her lip as Bray shook her like a ragdoll. Her cuts from the night before ripped open. Blood fell down her chin.  
  
"Fu.ck Amber! F.uck, fu.ck, fu.ck!" Bray screeched. He grabbed a fistful of Amber's shoulder-length hair and pulled her past the dining room, and into the hallway.  
  
He rammed her against the wall, knocking the breath out of her.  
  
"Stop it! Stop it!" Amber pounded on his back with what little strength she had left.  
  
"Shut the f.uck up! Shut the fuc.k up!" Bray grabbed her head and started ramming it into the wall.  
  
"Bray!" Amber shouted. She couldn't breath. Blood clouded her vision, her ears poured with the gooey red substance. Her broken rib was cracked again. The gentle fabric Tai-San had secured them with had tore without a second thought.  
  
As black clouded her conciousness, Bray dragged Amber into their bedroom and threw her against the bed.  
  
The force knocked her out.  
  
But that didn't stop Bray. He punched Amber in the face four more times and proceeded to rape her.  
  
After he was done, he stared at her.  
  
And he felt nothing inside.  
  
The sun was beginning to set outside. The room was clouded in the darkness that the evening tends to bring.  
  
Bray left the room. He took a breath in the hallway, walked into the dining room, took a seat at the table.  
  
He grabbed the fork that sat at his place, stabbed a piece of cold cornbread, and shoved it into his mouth.   
  
His hands still fresh with the blood of his wife.  
  
~*~  
  
[I]This woman  
  
Takes on the world  
  
And picks up your shirts  
  
Keeps it together somehow  
  
This sane woman  
  
That melts with your touch  
  
And wants you to feel what I'm feeling right now  
  
Cause this woman needs  
  
A safe place to live  
  
Is somewhere to cry  
  
And I'll tell you  
  
I'll tell you  
  
What this woman needs[/I]  
  
~*~  
  
The next morning when Amber awoke, she was on the floor of her bedroom. Her head pounded, like someone had hit her with a hammer repeatdly.  
  
She didn't doubt Bray was capable of that.   
  
"Shit..." She whispered. She ran her hand against her forehead. Wet blood. She was still bleeding. He had hit her the night before-- Oh God, how much blood had she lost?  
  
Her heart started to beat fast. She needed to get to Tai-San or she could die. Without a thought, Amber stumbled into her closet and grabbed a pair of old sneakers, her coat, and a blue hankerchief that once belonged to her grandmother. She sat down on the couch in the family room, tied her shoes, and wrapped the hankerchief around her head in kerchief-style.  
  
As she pulled on her coat, she looked in the mirror. The gash ran from the side of her head to her forehead. The hankerchief did little to cover it. She looked like a Russian woman. She looked ridiculious.  
  
Amber took a deep breath. It hurt. She clutched her side. Her hand brushed against the doorknob when a thought occured to her-- what if she wasn't coming back?   
  
Tai-San surely wouldn't allow her to return. None of her friends would. Especially with the abuse so clearly written across her forehead. But she couldn't pack anything-- she was going to collapse any minute, and this time she didn't know for how long.  
  
"Goodbye," Amber cried pitifully. She opened the door and limped from her home.  
  
Amber pulled her coat closer to her as she hobbled down the street. Her head bowed down gracefully, she kept her face hidden from the cold wind.  
  
The sky above was overcast, a dull gray color.  
  
Good, Amber thought. She didn't need sunshine now. She wanted to cry. To release all of her pain and frusteration. But she knew that was futile. She had to be strong-- for BJ.  
  
"Amber is that you?" An old mini-van pulled up to the sidewalk. Inside was Kelly Anderson-- one of her old neighbours from Before.  
  
Amber's blood froze. What would she say?  
  
"Hey Kelly!" Amber sniffed. She tilted her head at an odd angle to hide her bruises. Her voice cracked. She was in horrible condition.  
  
"Where are you going?" Kelly asked. Inside the van, Amber heard a toddler cry out.  
  
"Just to the clinic. I have a horrible cold," Amber explained. She was always good at improvising.  
  
"Want a lift?"  
  
"Oh, no, I'm fine. I need some excersize. Tai-San says that it's good to be exposed to the morning air on cloudy days when you have a cold-- some weird spiritual mumbo-jumbo, but hell, maybe it'll work," Amber lied, grinning.  
  
"That Tai-San. She's grown up, but still a little outta this world," Kelly said. The toddler's voice cried again.  
  
"Definitely."  
  
"Ah, Samuel is being cranky. I gotta get him home. Hey, I'll talk to you later. Maybe we can go out to lunch next week. Get better! Bye hon!" Kelly waved. She rolled up the window. Amber waved.  
  
Relief flooded her as the van drove off. She tightend the hankerchief knot and bowed her head down low. She couldn't risk that happening again. She took a painful breath and pulled the fake fur-lined hood of her coat on her head. It wasn't the greatest, but it was all the disguise she had.  
  
She was relieved when she turned on the street where Tai-San's clinic was located. She started walking quickly, keeping her head down, in case Bray was trying to watch her movements. She quietly ducked into Tai-San's clinic.  
  
Tai-San was sitting at the front desk, shuffling papers. Amber threw off her scarf.  
  
"How could you do this, Tai-San?" Amber asked. Her voice trembled, so full of pain and hurt. Tears rushed down her eyes, mixing with dried blood. Her hair was greasy, ratted and matted in red. She was shaking with fury, and with betrayal.  
  
"Oh my God, Amber..." Tai-San's hand reached her mouth.   
  
"I look that bad, eh? It's your goddamn fault! He found out I came here yesterday," Amber clutched her hand to her face to hide the tears that wouldn't stop coming. How could Tai-San have betrayed her like that?   
  
"Amber, I didn't tell him. Let me fix you up, and I'll tell you what happend," Tai-San put a gentle arm around Amber's shoulder and directed her to the bed. Amber sat down, staring at the floor. Her head was full of sharp pains.  
  
"I tape-record myself when I diagnosis my patients for later referals. You were talking about Bray when I was muttering stuff into my recorder about your condition, and when you left, a man came in," Tai-San dabbed a bandage into a liquid and rubbed Amber's forehead wound. She cried out in pain.   
  
"I'd never treated him before. His name was John Matheson?"   
  
Amber snarled. "John Matheson is one of Bray's cronies at work." One who randomly came by for dinner, or to make moves on Amber. She hated John Matheson with a passion. He was sneaky, Bray's sidekick, his drinking buddy. Amber wouldn't be surprised if he also egged Bray on to beat her more.  
  
"He came in with a cold. I was in the backroom finding some remedies and I heard the recorder playing. It was you describing Bray beating you. I ran and told him to put it away, and he apologized and that was it," Tai-San concluded. Done with the forehead, she started picking through Amber's hair for the cut that was staining her hair red.  
  
"Jesus, Tai-San. He beat me so hard..." Amber sobbed. Her face fell into the confines of her hand. She was so ashamed. What would those who had thought of her as so strong think if they knew the truth? That she was pathetic and weak? It made her laugh to think she had been a leader once! To think people actually wanted her to become City leader was unfathomable.  
  
"Amber, you have to leave," Tai-San gently took Amber's chin and met her eyes.  
  
Amber looked away. Why couldn't she stop crying?  
  
"Tai-San, I- I refuse to start over."  
  
"Then don't."  
  
Amber looked at her.   
  
"Don't join the WLO. Amber, any of the old MallRats, including me, would take you in. We'd all defend you against him," Tai-San said definitively. She look into Amber's eyes with such a determined look for Amber's welfare, she would of given anything to dissapear and melt.  
  
Why did they care so much? What so great about her if she couldn't stop her husband beating her? How had anyone ever trusted her? Why had she let Bray do that to her? What would happen next? Why did the MallRats like her? She was disgusting, a hypocrite, evil to the bone.  
  
A wave of self-pity and self-hate flooded Amber's emotions. Wave after crashing wave knocked out all hope she had for the future of her life. The only thing she cared about now was BJ. She didn't want him to hear his father beat his mother every night.  
  
"Tai-San, I can't handle pity," Amber whimpered through clenched teeth. Tai-San was rummaging in a cabinet where she pulled out another brace for Amber's cracked ribs.   
  
"Dammit, Amber, you did so much for us after the Virus. Any of us would give our right and left arms for you," Tai-San lifted up Amber's shirt carefully.   
  
"He really messed this up, honey. You're going to have to stay in bed for a couple of weeks to fully recover," Tai-San rubbed the purple bruises that lurked vividly under Amber's pale skin. Amber flinched. Super sharp stings arched into her back every time Tai-San touched her.  
  
"Weeks? But-- Bray-- no...." Amber muttered to herself. Her tears were dried now, her runny nose was hardened on the top of her lip.  
  
"If you want to have a full recovery, you need to leave Bray today," Tai-San said gently.  
  
Amber couldn't bring herself to form words, much less speak them. To leave Bray was... unthinkable. They had been together so long. What was it? BJ was seven, and he was born two and a half years after the Virus-- so she had been with him for nine and a half years. In fact, that August would be their 10th anniversary, though they only married two years ago.  
  
"It's been almost 10 years Tai-San," Amber gripped the clinic bed so tightly her fists turned a ghostly white.   
  
"Is it worth your life to stay with him? Is it worth Bray Junior's life?" Tai-San said.  
  
"Of course it's not, Tai-San! Stop playing the therapist, I know Bray will kill me if I stay, okay? I just want..."  
  
"Something better for not only BJ, but for yourself. Amber, don't do what our moms did. Make yourself a priority. It's okay to want to save yourself!"  
  
"I know that...it's just scary to even think about any of this. I think he'd come after me, Tai-San..."  
  
"Than we'll be here to defend you."  
  
Amber thought about that. The former MallRats were the only people in the world she could trust. She had to do what she had to. Or get killed, and be remembered as someone who was too weak to defend herself. A woman who had once held the destiny of the City in her hands, but, like so many people in history before her, had let her own dramatic circumstances get in the way.  
  
She refused to be that woman. She refused to give up. She had been the future of the City once. She could become the future of something now.  
  
It was time to leave him for good.  
  
She looked at Tai-San.   
  
"I'll leave." 


	2. Staying with Trudy

STAYING WITH TRUDY  
  
Amber slept soundly in the bed of Trudy's guest bedroom.  
  
It was the same day she told Tai-San she was leaving Bray. After fixing Amber up, Tai-San had closed the clinic, and they took Tai-San's car to Trudy's apartment on the far side of the City. Trudy usually worked, so they hoped she was home.  
  
"Tai-San, I don't want to impose on anyone..." Amber said nervously as they climbed the steep cement steps up to 1B.   
  
"Amber, I would take you, but Bray knows I'm helping you and that would put us all in more danger, but he doesn't know Trudy knows anything. Besides, Trudy was your best friend. Once she finds out what's been happening, she won't hesitate in taking you and Bray Junior in," Tai-San reassured her.  
  
Amber sighed. They knocked, and, to Amber's relief Trudy answered.  
  
For a moment she was stunned at the sight of Amber; her mouth hung open on it's hinges.  
  
"Jesus, Amber..," She ushered Tai-San and Amber inside.  
  
Trudy made them coffee as Tai-San told her what had been happening. Amber said nothing as Trudy made random sounds of astonishment. She was feeling a mixture of shame and fear. Shame for letting another person who had known her once as strong and bold know that now she was a weak nothing. And fear, fear of Bray as he would find their home empty that night.  
  
Who would Bray take out his anger on then?   
  
Who will be his b.itch now? Amber thought bitterly.  
  
"Amber decided she's going to leave Bray," Tai-San concluded, finishing Amber's story.  
  
Trudy sat with her head in her hands.   
  
"I can't believe it, Amber...Bray? Bray...ugh, what a monster. God...but where will you stay?"  
  
"That's the problem. I would take her in, but Bray knows she told me about what's been going on, remember?," Tai-San said helplessly.  
  
"Amber, you can stay with me," Trudy said immediately.  
  
"What about BJ? He's at school," Amber's eyes scattered around the room, trying to avoid Trudy's.  
  
"I have to pick Brady up when she gets out of school, anyway, so I'll go early and get BJ too. Everyone knows we're good friends, and today is my day off for doing overtime on a shipment at work," Trudy said, concerned.  
  
Amber smiled in relief, yet for a moment she thought about Trudy's willingness to help her. The duo had definitely drifted apart the last 2 years of her married life7. They saw eachother shopping, or around town, but other than that nothing had been profound enough in their relationship to keep it alive.  
  
Yet Amber guessed something had been profound enough for Trudy to have let her stay with her. Putting everyone in danger. Bray had connections in the City from his past as leader. But Amber did too.  
  
She would not go down easyily.  
  
"That sounds like a great idea. I'll put Amber to bed when things are settled," Tai-San said cheerfully. She rubbed Amber's shoulders like she was trying to show Amber what life could be like without him. That one of her old good friends had come through, and maybe she could start trusting again because of that. But it would be a long time before Amber could start trusting anyone.  
  
"Alright, let me just get my purse," Trudy headed down the hallway to her bedroom before Tai-San stopped her.  
  
"Wait, what about Amber's things at home?"   
  
Trudy's looked down at the ground, her eyes closed in thought.  
  
"I could call Salene and tell her to pick up some clothes and what-not," Trudy shrugged.   
  
So Trudy had kept in touch with Salene, but not her. Amber felt a spark of hurt.  
  
"I don't want everyone knowing," Amber shook her head, feeling angry at herself for holding a sudden grudge against Salene and for imposing on everyone in the way she had.  
  
"Salene isn't everyone Amber," Tai-San said gently.  
  
"I know, but-"  
  
"But it's already 1:00 in the afternoon. Bray'll be home at four, right?" Trudy tapped her wristwatch.  
  
Amber nodded slowly.  
  
"It'll take a half hour to get to the school, ten minutes to check the kids out, and another 30 minutes to get home. That time it'll be 2:30, and it'll take at least an hour or even two to pack all of your stuff. We don't have the time, Amber," Trudy smiled sadly.  
  
Amber bit her tongue. The situation was out of her hands.   
  
"Trudy, do you have a pen and a paper? We should have you write a list, Amber, so Sal knows what to get," Tai-San chimed.  
  
"There should be one in the top drawer of the kitchen. I'm going to call Sal," Trudy dissapeared into her bedroom, and Tai-San began rummaging in the specified drawer. She pulled out a dark blue pen, and a cutesy yellow notepad made for memos.  
  
"What do you need?" Tai-San said, hand poised over the paper.  
  
"Um," Amber thought for a moment, "My clothes, BJ's clothes-- those can be found in the bureaus in both BJ's room and the master bedroom. She can find two suitcases in the closet in the hallway where she can put it all. BJ's toys, and books. The books on the bookshelf in the master bedroom-- They're all mine, Bray never reads. Er-- a box of photographs and a box of papers in that same closet in the hallway. And the pictures of me and BJ, or of my parents, or anyone except Bray around the house.. and...that's it," Amber said.  
  
Tai-San scribbled for a few minutes, Amber repeating things she had said, and finally the list was complete. Trudy came from her bedroom, a solemn look on her face.   
  
"Salene is going to meet me at the school for the list," Trudy said. She scanned her watch, "I have to go, it's been twenty minutes." She gave Amber a reassuring look, and bent down on her knees to look into Amber's face.  
  
"BJ will be fine, Salene will get your stuff. Don't stress. I'll be back soon."   
  
Trudy left.  
  
"You need to get into bed, Amber or that rib is going to cause some serious damage to your internal organs. Come on," Tai-San got up off the sofa, and stood as a support for Amber. Amber lumbered herself off the flowery couch and fell onto Tai-San's shoulder. Tai-San slipped her arm around Amber's waist, and the duo dragged themselves to Trudy's guest room.  
  
Amber laughed (gripping her side because it hurt her to do so) at the decorations Trudy had used. A flowery bedspread hung limply on the twin bed, three photographs of black and white daisies were nailed above the bed, evenly spaced apart. The walls were a twist of vines and sunflowers wallpaper, and opposite the bed was a rather large antique chest of drawers Trudy had saved from her grandparent's house. And in the middle room, on the wall farthest from the door, a huge window let sunlight spill into the room.  
  
"This is like a garden. Maybe it'll speed your recovery," Tai-San grinned as she lied Amber down on the bed, which, despite it's lumpy appearence, was quite comfortable. Amber felt suddenly sleepy, and the pain at her side had died down.  
  
"Typical Trudy," Amber chortled from the confines of the luciously comforting feather pillow.  
  
"Definitely. I'm going to go make some dinner for when Trudy, Salene, and the kids get here. You sleep, and I'll check in on you when its ready to see if you're awake, but if you're not I'll save you some, alright?" Tai-San drew two heavy curtains that hung on either side of the window shut, sending the room into darkness.  
  
Amber nodded, and as Tai-San left the room and shut the door behind her, she fell asleep.   
  
Feeling safe for the first time in a long time.  
  
~*~  
  
Amber didn't wake up until next afternoon.  
  
Tai-San had left long before, but she could hear Brady, BJ, and Trudy talking in low whispers from her bed.  
  
"Keep it down, kids, Amber is trying to sleep," Trudy whispered severely.   
  
"Sorry mom," Brady whispered back, loud as her talking voice.  
  
"Sorry," BJ whispered even louder.  
  
A smile broke on Amber's face, sending jolts of pain where the cuts were stretching. She took a deep breath-- her head felt woozy. No wonder, she thought bitterly. Her head HAD been rammed against a wall repeatedly. A sadness filled her when she thought of that. It also gave her a slight headache. She shook the feeling off, and slid from the bed, so her feet hit the floor with a thump. She was awfully hungry.  
  
A rush of cold blood tingled through her veins. Her heart was beating fast. The pain in her ribs returned, and this time violently. She needed to stay in bed.  
  
"Trudy!" She called feebly, shifting back into the covers. A light glow issued from the window behind the curtain.  
  
The door clicked, and Trudy's head appeared with what seemed like the light of day.   
  
"Amber, you're up?" Trudy shut the door, and sat down gently on the bed. "You've been sleeping since yesterday."  
  
"Really? I must've been tired," Amber yawned, surprised.  
  
"Probably. You've been through a lot," Trudy smiled gently and rubbed Amber's hand.  
  
"Thank you so much for letting us stay with you Trudy. I just hope we don't become a burden-"  
  
"Amber, you could never be a burden. Bray is a creep, and I know if something was happening to me you would do the same for Brady and I. I love you, Amber. We're friends. We've shared babies together, and a history. There is no way I would turn you out," Trudy said, looking into Amber's eyes.   
  
It was almost bewildering. To see and accept kindness. Basic human respect, which had been denied of her. Such gestures reminded her of the days just after the Virus when all she cared for was justice, truth, and a new life. A life that could benefit everyone just if people could cooperate and work together and respect one another.  
  
God I was so naive, Amber thought.  
  
"Thank you Trudy. I mean that from the bottom of my heart."  
  
"Anytime, babe. Well, I kept Brady and BJ from school today because of Bray. I called the school and told them Brady was sick, but I didn't say anything about Beej. I don't think the kids should go back until things are safe," Trudy nodded.  
  
"I don't want to keep Brady from an education," Amber said tiredly.  
  
"You're not. If Brady has to miss school for a couple of days, or even weeks, to save your life, than so be it. With Aphrodite Stevens as City Leader our kids aren't getting much of an education anyway."  
  
"I guess you're right. What about our stuff? Did Salene come?"  
  
"Yes, she dropped it off last night. She was really concerned about you. She wanted to see you, but you were asleep, and Tai-San refused to let anyone even open your door. A couple of times she came in here with some pills and a glass of water, but only that. But you're stuff is in the other spare bedroom that I use for storage. Salene got all the stuff on the list, and I guess she barely missed Bray."  
  
"Oh God, Bray?!"  
  
"She got out of there. Bray hasn't seen Salene in years, he doesn't know what she drives. She got your stuff, you and BJ are safe, you're healing-- that's all that matters."  
  
"I'm so hungry..."  
  
"Tai-San saved a fish sandwhich and some salad for you last night. Let me go get it," and with that Trudy left the room and came back with a blue plate and a glass of fresh milk.  
  
The City had several farms running, and many products that came from them were readily available for the City to use. One could sign up for daily milk deliveries and one could shop at a grocery store and buy a loaf of bread or newly caught trout from the river in the forest. Vegetables were grown, and many people had their own gardens. Outside of Trudy's kitchen window was a small strawberry patch and on her balcony she was growing potatoes in a large brown tub.  
  
The City had become resourceful.  
  
Amber sat up, and scarfed down the sandwhich. The food was delicious, and the milk seemed to cleanse her as it spilled down inside her body. Trudy watched her as she ate.  
  
"Good?" She smiled sarcastically, taking the empty glass and plate from Amber.   
  
Amber wiped her face with her arm, "Mhmmmh."  
  
"Do you want to see BJ?"   
  
The happiness the good food brought her died. She had dreaded this moment of telling BJ why they had left.  
  
"What should I tell him?" Amber swallowed hard.  
  
Trudy looked at her. "What you feel is right."  
  
Amber sighed.  
  
"BJ you're mom wants you," Trudy called out into the living room when she opened the door. She gave Amber a thumbs up sign and BJ ran in.   
  
"Mum!" He hugged Amber, digging himself into her side. Amber stroked his brown hair gently, taking in their little reunion as much as possible. With her son with her, she felt the real safety Tai-San and Trudy had talked about settle in at last.  
  
"I love you, BJ," Amber whispered. Her eyes misted slightly. She had not realized how much she had feared for BJ with Bray. She had wondered many times if his outbursts would turn on BJ when he got tired of hitting Amber. Oh God, she loved him.  
  
"Are we staying with Trudy and Brady because of Dad?" BJ's head rose, peering over the covers at Amber. He was a very mature little boy.  
  
Amber, slightly surprised by his blunt question, stroked his cheek. "Trudy is taking us in for a short time until we find our own house to live in."  
  
"Because Dad hurt you?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I'm happy we left, Mum."  
  
Amber felt an entire river of tears threatening to spill over into reality.   
  
"Things are going to be good from now on, BJ. We'll be happy."  
  
"I want to be happy."  
  
BJ laid next to her, and they both fell asleep.  
  
~*~  
  
Two weeks passed. Amber had one more to go before she was recovered as Tai-San had promised. Daily the healer visited Amber, complete with a heavy dosage of pills Amber guessed were painkillers and a jug of purified water instilled with vitamins to be kept in Trudy's fridge and to be drunk three times a day with every meal.  
  
Amber was indeed starting to feel better. The pain in her side was nearly gone, and she didn't feel as weak. Trudy told her her face was healing, and only bruises remained of the violent beatings. Amber was grateful for Trudy. She had taken those two weeks off work to care for Amber, and make sure she was fine. She had gotten herself involved, and Amber, although intensly guilty, also felt incredibly grateful. Siva and Dee didn't mind the days off.  
  
Trudy co-owned a department store with the two called Albertson's. They sold clothes, bath luxuries, new perfumes, and jewelry they made themselves. They also housed a musuem of jewelry recovered from the National Museum that turned a profit with local scientific researchers, children's birthday parties, and the random passerby who wanted a historical day on the town. Albertson's had a staff of thirty who worked to make the things Trudy, Dee, and Siva designed come to life.  
  
One day, in the midst of the security that seemed to have throw itself upon Amber, Tai-San came over frantic and scared. Her calm demeanor was gone, and despite Trudy's protests, she barged into Amber's room.  
  
"Amber, John Matheson stole the transcript of our conversation the day you came to see me!" Tai-San breathed hard. Amber's eyes widened. John Matheson had their conversation?  
  
"But...what? What happend?" Amber asked urgently. The bowl of fresh corn she had been munching on lay forgotten on the nightstand.  
  
"I was giving one of Spike's old friends a remedy to soothe migraines when he rushes into the clinic, and knocks on the door in the examination room. I was so angry! I opened it and tried to tell him off, but he pushed me aside and opened my storage room. He came out with a folder and ran off. I went to look when he was gone, and it was your file. That's all of my diagnosis on your treatment! I keep extra copies, just in case, but the transcript was in there. That means Bray is looking for you," Tai-San gasped.   
  
Amber stared out the closed window. She had expected Bray to do something stupid like that. To get her information so no one would no what he had done to her in the past.  
  
"Why didn't Spike's friend stop him?" She asked, irritated. She took a swig of the prescribed water.  
  
"He had a migraine during his visit, but I sent him off when John ran out. He came back, and almost collapsed on the floor," Tai-San shrugged. She knelt down and sighed.  
  
"I'm sorry, Amber. I need to keep those files to treat my patients."  
  
"I thought Bray'd do something like that all along. I'm just sorry it's hurting you. And at least we have a backup file," Amber apologized.  
  
"That's all John wanted and he got it. I don't think Bray'll try to get anything else out of me," Tai-San tried to reassure herself, though her eyes didn't quite believe it all the way.  
  
"Just be careful. He may try to question you or get where I'm staying from you. Just make sure you keep your house locked and the clinic locked," Amber gave her hand to Tai-San's and squeezed.  
  
"It'll be okay."  
  
Tai-San nodded, and left. 


	3. Visitors

[B]Chapter Three: VISITORS[/B]  
  
The third week of Amber's recovery passed, and by the end of it she felt better than she had in the past two years. Her brain was working properly, her body was full of energy and felt healthy. She was ready for a new beginning. The Tuesday of the fourth week she got out of bed, and watched Kathryn Hepburn movies on the television in the living room all day. Bray and Amber didn't have a TV. Bray refused to pay the extra bill, though they had been well off financially.   
  
There was only one channel broadcasted-- The City Network. It showed daily news, emergency bulletins when needed, movies on the weekends, and old tv programs throughout the week. The City Engineering Firm, a government owned lab that examined technology to rebuild it for the new world, ran by Jack, had discovered how to work television again three years before. It had been a hit, and worked well. Some merchants and store owners even filmed their own commercials and paid a small fee to have themselves advertised for the City to see. That had boosted the economy, and started a prosperious circle of trade that funded the City's public services with a small sales tax added to every purchase, as each store was required to get a City Merchant Permit to operate legally.  
  
Nibbling toast, Amber got lost in the television as Brady and BJ colored on the kitchen table. Trudy came from her room, a dark blue towel wrapped around her head, wearing a powder blue bathrob.  
  
"Amber, are you sure about this?" Trudy unwrapped the towel and dried her hair.  
  
Amber looked up from the TV. "Yes, Trudy. I'll be fine. Siva and Dee need you."   
  
Trudy wrapped her hair back up.  
  
"I'm just concerned," Trudy bit her lip, hands on hips.  
  
"Don't be. I'm healed. Only a few bruises left, but they're almost gone. You did that for me Trudy. Without you I'd probably be dead right now."  
  
"Oh, Amber," Trudy fell down on the couch and the two women embraced.   
  
"Go get ready, I'll watch the kids," Amber grinned. They broke apart and Trudy went to put on her make-up.  
  
"Since your better are we going home?" BJ asked suddenly.   
  
Amber turned her head towards the table.  
  
"No BJ. Now that I'm better I'll be able to get a job, and we can get a new house," Amber said.  
  
"Okay. Mum, I don't want to go back to live with Dad."  
  
"That's over now, BJ. It's over now."  
  
"What if he comes to get us?"  
  
"We have our friends to protect us."  
  
"Is Brady going to protect me?"  
  
Amber laughed sardonically and smiled. "Just like Trudy will protect me."  
  
BJ and Brady broke into laughter and continued to draw as Amber finished her movie.  
  
Trudy, doing her eyeliner in a compact, strutted down the hallway in a navy blue business suit, her black hair up in a bun, and two shimmering gold loops hanging from her ears. She grabbed a black purse with a long strap and slipped it over her shoulder.  
  
"I'm going now, Amber. If you have trouble you can call me at work or you can call Tai-San or Salene. All the numbers you need are next to the phone. If anything happens, take the kids and go into my bathroom, hide in the shower, and lock the doors. No one will find you there," Trudy said in a very business-like tone. With a snap she closed her compact. Trudy was a very safety minded mother.  
  
"Sounds good," Amber said. A Lana Turner movie was just starting.  
  
"I'll be home around 5:00. Love you Brady," She kissed the blonde girl on the top of her head, messed up BJ's hair, and left. The faint rumble of a car below sounded and sped off into the distance until the sound faded.  
  
Amber watched the Lana Turner movie, a Shirley Temple movie for the daily Children's Block programming, and an old episode of LAW AND ORDER when the phone rang. Amber muted the television, and picked up the portable in the kitchen.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Amber? It's Salene."  
  
"Oh! Salene, how are you?"  
  
"I'm doing great, how are you?"  
  
"Been in bed for the past three weeks, but I'm better now. I'm with Brady and BJ, Trudy just went to work."  
  
"I'm so sorry about Bray Amber. So sorry."  
  
"No one could've predicted his future, Sal."  
  
"I know, but...he was our leader."  
  
"And now he isn't."  
  
Silence.  
  
"I'm going into town to pick up a dress at Albertson's, can I stop by when I'm done?"  
  
"That'd be nice."  
  
"Okay, I'll see you in an hour."  
  
"See you then. Bye Salene."  
  
"Bye."  
  
Amber put the phone back in the charger, and drummed her fingers on the countertop. She had had enough TV for the day. Maybe she would go through some of her stuff; see what Salene had taken from her house.  
  
With a quick glance at the kids, Amber went into Trudy's other spare bedroom. The place was a mess. With crude yellow walls and an old white bed even more frumpy looking than the guest one, boxes upon boxes were flowing everywhere. Most of them were Trudy's, but a pile of large white ones with lids were marked AMBER on the bed.  
  
Amber sat down next to the boxes and opened the one closest to her. Photographs from her storage. Smiling at her from the collage of faces were Bray, BJ as a baby, the Mall, MallRats after the Virus, herself as a child, her mother and father, her sister. She took those particular photos out. Her family.  
  
She had not thought about them for years. Her mother had been a doctor, and her father an appraiser. Tiffany, her sister, was in her third year of college when the Virus broke. She had joined a cult the year before, and had little contact with the family. Her parents thought Tiffany might be immune to it being so young, but she was not, and ultimately it ended up taking her in it's beginning stages. The cult leader told them over the phone. And, slowly, the rest of the world succumbed to the dreaded death, including her parents. They had died during the last phase when most of the adults were already dead. They had her promise them that she would survive, and strive for goodness, and try to make a better world. That's when her father gave her the infamous ring she had given Bray so long before.  
  
What would her parents think of her as Bray's b.itch? Would they be proud of her than? Would they think taking blows and fearing for her baby was a contribution to a new world? Amber snarled in grief, and shut the lid of the photograph box.  
  
She pulled a larger white box towards her. Books. And one next to that-- BJ's toys. And another next to that-- her underwear.  
  
There was nothing particularly interesting about any of it. Sighing, she pushed the boxes back into the center of the bed and left the room. Like they were glued, BJ and Brady were still scribbling at the table, a thick pile of rags making mounds around them. To use rags to draw instead of valuable paper had been Trudy's idea. That way the kids could draw as much as they wanted, yet wash them when they ran out. Siva had liked the idea so much that she proposed the idea of selling them at Albertson's. Trudy and Dee agreed, and Drawing Rags were a hot commodity with children and parents alike.  
  
Amber collapsed on the sofa, feeling drowsy. She clicked the TV off mute just in time for a news bulletin.  
  
"Your normal broadcasting will return in a moment: three weeks ago Amber Thomas, who you may remember as the influential leader of the MallRat tribe in the days after the Virus, and her son Bray Junior were reported missing by Bray Thomas, another leader of the MallRats. Thomas came home from work to find the home he and Amber shared empty. There have been no signs of Amber or Bray Junior. The City Police Department is asking all citizens to report to the City Police Department if you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Amber Thomas and son Bray Junior."  
  
A picture of Amber in her wedding dress and Bray's school picture showed on the screen side by side with a MISSING caption in bold yellow above them. The pictures stayed on the screen for a full minute.  
  
"We now return to your regular programming."  
  
Amber laughed. Bray knew she was not missing; she was perfectly alive. He also knew she was with a former MallRat. Where else would she have gone? He's a real joke, Amber laughed. The sick son of a b.itch was trying to make the City pry their eyes for any sign of her so he could drag her by her hair back to their god awful home and kill her.  
  
She wouldn't let them happen.  
  
KNOCK KNOCK.  
  
Amber jumped at the two heavy motions on the door. Nervously, she pulled herself onto the edge of the sofa and peered through the blinds of the window to see who was at the door. Salene.  
  
KNOCK KNOCK.  
  
"Oh God, Salene," Amber grabbed her chest, and breathlessly unchained the door.  
  
Salene grabbed Amber so tightly to her Amber felt her rib almost broke again.  
  
"Amber! Good God!" She said, her voice muffled from Amber's shoulder.  
  
Amber giggled, "I'm healed Sal."  
  
"I know, I was just so worried, and I didn't want to disturb you during the three weeks-"  
  
"It's fine, I was sleeping the entire time anyway. And look," She held up her hands around her face, "Hardly any bruises left!"  
  
"I can't believe it, Amber. No one would have ever suspected anything like this from he out of all people," Salene shrugged, a sickened look on her face.  
  
"I can't believe it either, because he just issued a news bulletin for me and BJ on The City Network," Amber said flatly.  
  
"He has to know you're with one of us," Salene cried.  
  
"I know. He's just trying to get me back home. He drinks so much now, I think it's made him thick in the head," Amber rheotered.  
  
"Trudy said that Dee told her that he still goes to the bars every night with that John guy who went into Tai-San's office."  
  
"Dee knows now?" Amber asked incrediously.  
  
"She had to tell Siva and Dee why she was missing work," Salene said defensively.  
  
"It's just spreading like wildfire. Lets go sit down, I don't prefer standing in doorways. BJ, Brady move your rags."   
  
Salene sat down at the table, and Amber fixed them sandwhiches in the kitchen.  
  
"I think Siva might've told Lex," Salene said.  
  
"God, Lex too?"  
  
"Well, they broke up, but they still are good friends, and Siva knows the Police thought you were missing-- she probably thought that Lex needed to know so they didn't put much energy in finding you," Salene shrugged as Amber put a fish sandwhich and a glass of water in front of her.  
  
"I just hope it's not on the front page of The Amulet tomorrow," Amber said dryly.   
  
"It won't be," Salene took a large bite of her sandwhich.  
  
The Amulet was the City newspaper, and it was ran by Ellie, who had founded it years back in the tribal times. Ellie had hired many reporters and journalists who kept the City well-informed of what was happening and what affected them. It was a respected project, and had won an award from City Hall for giving the City a " fine moral communicative device."  
  
"So how are things with you?" Amber took a pickle off her plate, and with a crunchy bite savored it in her mouth.  
  
"Good, good. Pride still works for The Education Foundation. He's pretty angry that Aphrodite isn't holding to her promises though. I'm at Stoker & Johnson, the law firm down on Mason Street as Assistant Prosecutor to a Dan Johnson. Do you remember, he was in the Gulls?"  
  
"Yeah, I knew him. Prosecuting? You did it, Sal. You got through things and came out on top," Amber patted her friend on the back.  
  
"We all did. Could you imagine how much the City came together and rebuilt itself? It's incredible. And you Amber, you always knew we could do it," Salene grinned.   
  
"It was just a matter of working together. Not hard to realize, just took a bit of time, I guess," Amber twiddled her thumbs together. She hated it when people praised her about her past. She had been so smart, she had been so great, she had been such a visionary-- so did that mean she was now a coward hiding in a friend's home because of an insanely abusive husband? A wave of guilt rushed over her.  
  
"For a bunch of teenagers it was like a foreign language. Working together? The courts are always holding hearings for teens who are living on the streets or won't abide by laws. Those are so depressing, they remind me of how people in our generation were after things fell apart," Salene shook her head.  
  
"Kids are kids. We grew up too fast. We missed our proms, and our student councils, and our graduations. This generation hasn't. I think sociological evolution is catching up with us," Amber chortled. Salene laughed. They finished their food.  
  
As Brady and BJ fell asleep watching a re-run of EUREKA'S CASTLE, Salene and Amber sat at the table and talked.  
  
"God, Amber. It's been so long. Why did you cut off contact with all of us?"   
  
"After the wedding...I don't know. That's when he started to hurt me, and I couldn't bear having to put on a show for you guys. I couldn't do that-- not physically, not emotionally."  
  
"Why didn't you come straight to us after he first hit you? Why did you let it happen for so long?"  
  
"I was so confused. It surprised me so much when he first did it, and I thought it was a one time thing. But than he did it more and more and I thought it was my fault. I thought I didn't keep a good enough house, and I wasn't raising BJ properly, and I wasn't pretty or good enough for him.  
  
Everyone always looked to me for the ideas, and thought I was such a role model, and the best leader. I thought, what would they all think? I hate to lie, Sal. You know that. So I stopped seeing people, and kept myself inside most of the time. It was such a burden to hold a secret like that. The burden from hell."  
  
"You got through it, though," Salene said gently.  
  
"Stronger than before, and ready to conquer," Amber said defiantly.   
  
Salene stayed for another hour, and left for work. When she did, Amber thought about her conversation with her. She [I]was[/I] stronger than before. And she [I]would[/I] conquer. Oh yes, she would conquer. The weakness of Amber had came, it had lived, and it had died. It was time for a reign of strength.  
  
~*~  
  
A week later, after an entorage of visitors that included Ellie and Alice, Dee, Siva, more Salene, and even Java (in the fruit basket she brought was a mysterious get-well card with no signature that Amber suspected was from Ebony), Lex came to see her.  
  
Salene's tidbit mentioning Siva telling Lex about Amber's situation had been true. Lex was completely frantic, and concerned when he showed up at Trudy's doorstep, banging ferociously on the door.  
  
Amber peeked out the window to see who it was, and than opened it.  
  
"Lex, what is it?" Amber was about to say before she was smothered in Lex's arms. He squoze her so tight she couldn't breath.  
  
"Amber! Damn you, I've been looking everywhere!" Lex finally let her go, and firmly gripped both sides of her face.  
  
"Lex, I'm fine; ow that hurts..."  
  
"Oh, sorry, babe," Lex let go and stared at her amazed, like she had been dead and was now gloriously back alive. Unlike a similiar encounter years before when Lex, Ebony, Dal, and Bray had found Amber alive and well living with the Eco-tribe when they had thought she was dead. Except this time he didn't seem cocky or arrogant about it.  
  
"Come in, come sit down," Amber directed him to the freshly scrubbed table. Brady and BJ, sleeping in the other room, had left notorious stains on the white tiled surface which had taken Amber a day and a half to soak out. Sighing, they both sat down. Lex grinned at her, silent.   
  
"Lex?" Amber laughed.  
  
"It's so crazy to see you. Bray filed a missing persons report, and the Police Department has been searching for like mad!" Lex cried. "It's nice to see you're okay and not dead on some street corner."  
  
"I'm fine, I'm fine. I saw the bulletin on The City Network about me," Amber muttered, shaking her head.  
  
"Yeah, usually The City Network doesn't get involved unless it's serious, and they wanted to help Bray out because of who you two were. Bray...I can't believe it, Amber. I don't blame you for leaving," Lex said reassuringly. Amber smiled.   
  
"I don't blame myself. Wait, so you're still at the Police Department?"  
  
"Yeah, I work as an investigator now. There isn't a sheriff since the department has expanded so much; just a chief of police and his council. Of course I lost my position on that once Aphrodite Stevens took office. She was a Mozzie. Holds bad blood against old enemy tribes even now. But the entire Police Department was on your case since everyone knows who you were and what you did for the City. It's chaos down there," Lex shook his head gruffly. He had bags under his eyes, a tired look to him.  
  
"I had to leave, and Bray has so many connections it's not surprising he's pretending I'm 'missing'. Who would believe he would almost kill his own wife? Bray has this perfect image as hero of the day in the City. No one will believe he's different," Amber said gravely. Talking about Bray and his changes made her unbearably sad and miserable. Each time was like just discovering he was a bad man, and that he was not the Bray she once knew and loved.  
  
"Amber, you have the same influence. People respect you and listen to what you have to say. You're regarded like you are because you were the only one with a vision after the Virus. You wanted our world to be more and people respect that now," Lex looked at her. She turned her gaze at the square patches of white on the table. Oops, a black spot was still visible from the Drawing Rags. She got up to get a rag from a drawer Trudy didn't let the kids use.  
  
"That was so long ago. People change. And...and I don't want Bray to be tarred and feathered. I want him to pay for what he's done, I want to see justice, but what evidence is there except my wounds and they're all healed. I just want to be free of him, Lex," Amber scrubbed at the spot. Tears welled into her eyes. Bray had been such a [I]part[/I] of her. To begin anew without him was so...so different. So foreign. It would be very hard. Very hard, indeed.  
  
"There is a law against spousal abuse," Lex said suggestively. "Penalties range from five to ten to twenty years in prison. You could get Bray thrown behind bars easily."  
  
"Yes, but without evidence? I just told you, there is none."  
  
Lex said nothing. Amber reached over and patted his hand. "It's alright though, Lex. I just want my own life now."  
  
"I understand. But can I at least call off the search at the department so we can work on other things."  
  
"Do that, fine. The only illegal thing I'm doing is taking BJ from Bray," Amber threw the rag into the sink and washed her hands.  
  
"And I'm sure the Court would let you off easily because you're Amber," Lex said.  
  
"I don't know what you're going to tell them though. The truth isn't exactly in my favor," Amber folded her arms and sat back down.  
  
"I'll find something. We'll be going back to fixing up things Aphrodite is screwing up anyway. All of her promises she made during her campaign haven't been kept. The Education Foundation she started has no money in it, plus no education to it. Food prices are getting higher everyday and everyday people are getting poorer. Brawls break out all the time, and sometimes groups sit outside City Hall and protest, and they get violent so we're constantly patrolling there. Shaky times," Lex said unattatched.  
  
Lex was different. His immaturity wasn't where it had been, he wasn't looking at her bo.obs. Amber smiled to herself-- had Lex grown up?   
  
He was wearing a pair of faded jeans, black boots, a black leather jacket and the trademark cowboy hat. Because tribal markings had faded from popularity with the aging of the members of the tribes, many people used a few streaks of make-up on the sides of their cheeks or no make-up at all. Some tribes lived in neighborhoods together, but the gang-like quality had ceased and the City was more individual than it had been since before the Virus. On either side of Lex's cheeks were two parallel thick black lines. He also wore black mascara. Amber was slightly taken back by his curved jaw and how sexy he looked with the cowboy hat tipped sideways.   
  
Oh God, she screamed to herself. She was thinking about Lex in a sexual way. What was going on? But he seemed to have changed... What about Bray? Could she forget all of those years for one moment? She was so confused...  
  
"I haven't even payed attention to any news. I just know BJ isn't learning anything at school except how to read and basic math," Amber said quickly. It was too bad the City didn't have a good educational system. She had preached about that one a lot during the first years of life without adults. No one had wanted to listen. She suddenly wished Lex would go.  
  
"That's the cirriculium. First year students know the same as fifth year students! It's pretty pathetic," Lex said, a nerve of anger in his voice. Who knew Lex was that passionate about education? Certainly not Amber. The only thing Lex had been passionate about was women and how to get them in bed. Now he cared about the educational policies of the City government? Amber bit her tongue so hard it almost started to bleed.  
  
"You've changed Lex," Amber grinned.   
  
"Everybody grows up, Amber," Lex grinned back.  
  
They looked at eachother for a while. Lex was not holding back his obvious newfounded like of her, and she let her attraction file into the room, hit her eyes, and make them stare at him with intensity and awe. Suddenly things got uncomfortable.   
  
Amber looked away, her heart beating very fast. Lex coughed and adjusted his hat.  
  
"Erm..."  
  
"You should go back into politics, Amber," Lex said suddenly. He looked squeamishly self-concious.  
  
"Someone should fix this place up for sure," Amber smiled fakily. Why didn't he leave? God, it was hot in there.  
  
"I reckon that person should be you," Lex grinned. Obviously he was pretending nothing had been exchanged.  
  
"I sure wish BJ and Brady could go back to school," Amber inserted to fill the tension.  
  
"They're not in school?" Lex asked.  
  
"Haven't been since I came here because Bray might try to get them. I've watched them everyday while Trudy goes to work, but I need to get a job so I can stop relying on Trude and get me and BJ back on our feet," Amber sighed. This was one of her biggest frusterations. If Bray didn't stop looking for her than she could start living again. Something always seemed to be in her way.   
  
Lex sat back in his chair, thinking hard.   
  
"Why don't you just get a divorce so the Article 5 law comes into play? The Article 5 law is where women get custody of their children after divorces no matter what. That way Bray couldn't take BJ out of school without your permission, and if Aphrodite did one thing right with the schools it was hiring well-trained staffs," Lex said finally.  
  
The heaviness Amber had felt was lifted. Why hadn't she thought of that before?!  
  
"Lex..." Amber whispered, the brilliance of the plan sinking into her.  
  
"You don't want a divorce? It's none of my business, but Amber I really think it's the best--"  
  
"No, no. I want one! I want one! How long will it take?" Amber said fast, the words falling from her mouth like they were chained together.  
  
"It's not like before the Virus when they took forever to get processed, but you have to get both spouses to sign unless you get permission by the Court for a Special Circumstance agreement which allows you to sign because of a situation the Court approves of to let only one spouse sign," Lex explained.  
  
"How can I get a Special Circumstance paper?" Amber ran her fingers through her hair. Stress settled in every pour of her body, taking a seat next to the odd tension with Lex.  
  
"Didn't you know that Patch works for the Court? He's a Justice for the Family Department," Lex said, surprised Amber didn't know.  
  
Patch had helped Amber out in the past. He even seemed to have admired her for her courage during the Techno occupation. Maybe he would help her again.  
  
"Would Patch help me?" Amber croaked. She didn't want to get her hopes up.   
  
"Of course. He was a MallRat, however briefly. I'll talk to him tomorrow morning and come around during lunch, about 12, alright?" Lex got up and pushed his chair in.   
  
"You going to go?" Amber asked.  
  
"I have to get back to work so I can clear up your situation. Patch can help me so I don't have to tell anyone at the department about what's going on," Lex walked to the door. He brushed the doorknob. Amber joined him, another grateful wave enveloping her. No one had to know now. Things really seemed to be perking up.  
  
"Oh God, thank you so much, Lex," Amber hugged the man close to her as tight as she could, tighter than he had held her.  
  
She hugged him a bit too long. When that notion entered her head, she let go fast. Lex looked astonished, but quickly tried to regain his composure like at the table.  
  
"No problem. Anything for my mates," Lex opened the door.   
  
"I'm proud of you, Lex," Amber called out as he descended down the cement steps.  
  
Lex looked back and smiled at her. She closed the door and watched him through the window as got in his car and left. 


	4. Special Circumstances

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES  
  
The next morning Amber woke up early.  
  
The anticipation to finally break free was shaking every nerve in her body. All the patience she had was swept away by jutting anxiety. She needed those papers; she wanted them then and there. She had always been tied to Bray. Always. Even when she had been Eagle for that brief period of time, she was still his.  
  
She resented that so much, that no one could ever possibly understand how much she had come to loathe it. To loathe her past, and to loathe herself for getting entangled with such a man.  
  
But now a new era was about to begin-- one where Amber would not be defined by a man, and if she decided to take one up, he would not be defined by her. She was ready to start again and to make something of what she had been in order for her son to have the future that would give him the best quality of life.  
  
Thinking these thoughts, Amber threw back the covers of the bed and changed into a black tanktop and jeans. She fixed herself a cup of tea in the cheerfully painted blue kitchen and leaned over the counter, looking out the window over the sink at the busy lives occuring below on the street.  
  
Cars zoomed past, though far fewer than pre-Virus times. Bicycles intermixed with cars. People walked on the old, trodden sidewalks to their homes or to their jobs or held a child's hand securely as they made their way to a daycare or to one of the bus stops set up to transport kids to schools.  
  
Across the street from the apartment was a bookshop, and next to that was a vegetable stand, and than a dress boutique. The City had become quite the self-efficient machine. People had finally grown up, and Amber was proud of that. She knew it had been bound to happen.  
  
The night before, after dinner, and after BJ and Brady were sleeping, Amber and Trudy watched THE TRUTH ABOUT CATS & DOGS, one of Amber's favorite old movies with Uma Thurman. When it was over, the women sat at the table and drank hot tea. Amber's mood had been lifted by the humor of the movie; she was feeling calm, and good about things. Content. Hopeful.  
  
Over the tea, she told Trudy about what Lex had said.   
  
"Lex has certainly changed," Trudy lifted her mug to her lips. "Started when Tai-San left him the month before your wedding, if I recall right."  
  
"Trudy, I was just so surprised. He used to be such an a.sshole. Maybe the seperation made him realize his ways? It's so strange to think they were ever together!" Amber tried to convey her complete astonishment to her friend of the transformation.  
  
"Same with Siva. We've gotten close the past few years, and she's such a good person. It's so odd to imagine that the two used to be so serious. But she couldn't put up with his sh.it either, and than Tai-San took him back, and the rest is history...but it seems your quite taken with him," Trudy giggled.  
  
"The dramatic history of our lives," Amber said dramatically. "Well, he has gotten really attractive. There was a really awkward moment, though-- we stared at eachother."   
  
That odd moment had been bugging her all day. She wanted to call Trudy at work right after it had happend, but refrained from doing so after all of the things Trudy had sacrificed for her. She didn't need to sacrifice hours where she made money too.  
  
And when she got home they ate dinner, and than they had played old board games with the kids, and than watched the movie. To tell her was expectation: to see what Trudy thought.  
  
"You stared at eachother?" Trudy arched an eyebrow.  
  
Amber twiddled her thumbs, setting down her mug, and noticing the Drawing Rag spot she had tried to remove when Lex had visited. Still there. She slid the mug to cover it.  
  
"I take that as a yes, then. Well, you both probably see how much each of you guys have changed, were surprised, and a moment got caught in the confusion?" Trudy folded her arms and sat back in the chair. She was wearing a pair of Albertson's red pajama pants and a gray t-shirt, her hair flowing to her shoulders.  
  
"I hope so. Trudy, I'm going through so much...If something develops with Lex..." Amber trailed off. She bit her lip, a futile attempt at suppressing any possible connection with someone she used to think was as intelligent as a broomstick.  
  
"Amber, honey, you're jumping to conclusions. Give yourself time to get through the hell you've been through; I think you're just confused," Trudy got up and emptied her tea in the sink. Amber followed suit.  
  
"It's really impressive Lex is going to try to get you divorce papers though. I've heard about Special Circumstances, and they're hard to get," Trudy mentioned, hand on hip. Amber's heart sank. She turned on the faucet and washed her mug out. The hot tea sizzled down the sink.  
  
What if her future sizzled down the sink too? What if she didn't get the papers? A panic seemed to overtake her.  
  
"But I'm sure Patch will give them to you without a second thought," Trudy added quickly, recognizing the look on Amber's face.  
  
Amber smiled meekly, brushing it off, and the two said goodnight.  
  
Dressed in an indentical pair of Trudy's pajama pants and a black t-shirt, Amber dragged herself to the bathroom in the hallway between the spare bedroom, Brady's room, and where she and BJ were staying, the guest room.   
  
She slipped into her room to grab her toothbrush and some face wash Trudy got her from Albertson's. It seemed all of her newly acquired possessions were from the department store. She didn't care-- they were quality, and she hadn't had much anything of quality since before the Virus. And they were free.  
  
As she washed her face with a cloth she had squirted a small patch of the green facewash in, Amber thought about not getting the Special Circumstance papers.   
  
What was the worst that could happen? She thought. Maybe she could secretly work at Albertson's in a backroom, and Brady could teach BJ what she'd learned at school. And she could live with Trudy and clean her house for rent, and keep her company.  
  
No. That wouldn't work, Amber thought as she tried to scrub the stubborn mascara off her eyelashes. She didn't want to work in a backroom, it would be a burden for Brady to have to have the responsibility of teaching BJ, and Trudy had even told her she wanted to date in the future, possibly get married. Amber didn't blame her-- she wanted a life too, and wouldn't be completely thrilled to have her abused best friend living with her forever.  
  
She had to get those papers.   
  
When she was done cleaning up, she looked in the mirror for a moment, studying her reflection.  
  
Her build was the same as it had been since her teen years, except a bit more defined and filled out. She was lean, and had soft pink skin that wasn't tanned nor completely white. Her hair fell to her shoulders, the ends tipped slightly with the old bleach blonde that was so stuck it wouldn't come out no matter how many times she had tried to dye it. And her lips were like two small mountains that made themselves very clear on her face, her nose was strong like a dependable bridge, and her eyes-- her eyes seemed to hold her entire story within them.  
  
She leaned over to look closer at them. A terrible sadness was lost there. But also a drive and a strength. Clearly two paths she could take: be weak or, like the City had rebuilt itself, rebuild herself.  
  
Despite her circumstances, she would rebuild herself.  
  
Suddenly a yawn caught her, interrupting her study. She took that as a sign to retire, and with one last glance in the mirror, she turned off the light and slipped into the guest bedroom.  
  
BJ was sleeping on a bunch of pillows on the floor. He looked so safe, especially under the moonlight that managed to find cracks through the drapes. Amber kissed BJ goodnight. He stirred slightly as she tiptoed to the bed, and pulled the covers back.  
  
With a yawn, Amber fell asleep.  
  
She was surprised she had slept so well. She had thought she was in for a restless night of tossing and turning, but she slept like she was dead. She didn't even dream.  
  
And now, as she watched the outside world below the street, tea in hand, she heard the distinct sound of children waking up. Grinning, she drank the remainder of her tea and fixed toast and orange juice for the tousled hair kids who had wandered into the living room like zombies.  
  
"Come to the table, I made you guys breakfast," Amber said.   
  
BJ was lieing on the couch as Brady turned on the television for the Children's Block. Today it looked like THE LITTLE MERMAID. BJ and Brady made their groggy way to the table, and positioned their chairs toward to the television as Amber nibbled on a piece of toast. Suddenly a thought struck her-- the Children's Block came on at 10:00 every morning. So she had slept in!  
  
That meant in two hours Lex would come. He had said at lunch, and he even said that meant noon! Amber's heart started to thump anxiously once more. She drummed her fingers on the tables surface and finished the remainder of her toast in a frenzy. Wait, she thought as she emptied the dishes in the sink and loaded them into the dishwasher. Should I hop in the shower now? Yes! No! Yes?  
  
"God dammit," Amber said, frusterated. In the end, she decided to watch a bit of THE LITTLE MERMAID with the kids until 10:30 when she'd hop in the shower. A perfect plan. That way BJ and Brady would be preoccupied enough by the movie to do anything hazardous and she could get ready, maybe even see what different ways her hair looked best. Yes, that would be it...  
  
Then it hit her. Why was she so excited about getting ready? For the Special Circumstance papers?  
  
No... for that something else...  
  
Lex, Amber whispered in the deepest corners of her mind. Her heart sank as the excitement died. The little schedule she had planned out faded. She would not get ready for Lex! No, that was stupid. She would get in the shower at eleven, an hour before he came so she would look decent. She got ready every day! Just because she knew he was coming didn't mean she couldn't that particular day, did it?   
  
"Good God," Amber muttered as she finally decided to take the shower and get ready after watching a bit of the movie with the kids. She liked to feel her best. What was wrong with that? As the children were immersed in the tale of the mermaid princess, Amber hopped in the shower. The kids would be fine; Bray didn't know she was with Trudy, so there was no chance of him suddenly storming into the apartment and killing her.  
  
She shuddered at that thought as she lathered herself with soap that boasted to be made from "natural ingredients found in the splendors of nature" on the label. It smelt good; not too strong, and not too feeble. Just right. It was a grainy substance, so the harder she scrubbed the more it felt like the little sand-like pebbles were scratching the dirt from her pours. It made her feel clean, and she liked to be clean.  
  
When she was done lathering her skin, she pumped a large purple glass bottle for a shampoo that smelled like rain. She slathered the blue slime into her hair, and massaged her skull to perfection. Again, feeling the cleanliness soak into her soul and rise upward.  
  
Amber guessed she like to be clean so much because Bray always left her bloody and battered. The memories of waking up in different rooms around the house, bruised and dazed, were not fond ones. She had to scrub so hard to get the blood out of her hair. And the sting the hot water made on the more painful wounds was incredibly hurtful.   
  
"Now you don't wake up in random places, and you never have to worry about how to get blood out of your hair again," Amber laughed darkly, the water trickling down her lips, and splashing onto her tongue. She savored these moments for what they were. For how rare they had been not too long before. Now they were hers!  
  
She laughed hard. So hard, because now she was in control. Why hadn't she realized such before? Special Circumstance papers or not, she would go on. Amber would rebuild herself the life she always dreamed of, and no one, not even Bray, could stop her. And no one, she thought bitterly, would EVER take BJ from her EVER.   
  
Amber made a promise to herself: she would protect her life, and her child. No man was going to keep her away from her destiny, or hurt BJ. Bray? That son of b[B]i[/B]+_ch could rot in hell. He would never touch her-- never would he be a part of her or BJ's life again. As far as Amber was concerned, he had hurt them and that was enough to think of him as as good as dead.  
  
She was going to make it.  
  
Suddenly full of this new promise and bright with determination, Amber turned off the shower and got out.   
  
Bathing was the ritual of her life. It was the most perfect routine that always calmed her down, and that made her feel pretty. She savored the delicious moments of soaking her skin in natural perfumes and, as Tai-San would say, letting the negative energy drain from her. She would lavishly shampoo her hair like she was a queen, and towel herself dry with only the most dry and fluffiest of towels.   
  
Then she would make her way to the guest bedroom, and wipe herself down in lotion that moisturized every inch of her body that needed be. After she would get dressed, pick out a few rings or a necklace, and go back into the bathroom to do her hair.  
  
As she looked into the mirror, her hair a lumpy mess, she noticed the television was off in the living room. She cocked her head out the door.  
  
"BJ? Brady?"  
  
No answer. Fear made a vein in her forehead throb violently. She felt the beautiful serenity the shower had given her die, just like her excitement about getting ready when she realized it really was for Lex. Gulping, she took the hot curling iron as a makeshift weapon for a just-in-case scenario and slowly stepped out of the bathroom, sweat popping up on her forehead.  
  
"Gotcha Amber," A voice said.  
  
Amber threw herself around to see Bray standing by the door, holding BJ and Brady by their mouths so they couldn't scream. Tears streamed down both their scared faces.  
  
Her eyes wide in fear, Amber backed into the living room, the curling iron still in her hand.  
  
"Bray," She gulped.  
  
"It's me, b[b]i[/b]+ch," Bray sneered flatly. He glared at her, his eyes full of a hate she had never seen him wear before. He looked especially terrible. He hadn't shaved for what seemed like the entire duration of her stay at Trudy's, and he was wearing a white tanktop and black jeans that looked like they had been on him for days due to the large amount of stains upon them. Amber could smell the alcohol across the room.  
  
"What do you want?" Amber moved in a pouncing pose slowly around the room as he did the same. They were like the hands of a clock, moving slowly around the width of the living area. But unlike a normal clock, the hands they represented were far apart.  
  
"I want you and BJ back," Bray spat. BJ made a muffled cry for help.  
  
Amber, despite her urge to scream and fall into a nervous wreck, stayed strong. The promise she had made to herself would not die when it was needed most.  
  
"You can't have us back, Bray," Amber said powerfully. Bray glared, almost not recognziing her defying his authority.  
  
"I said I-"  
  
"You said a lot of things, Bray," Amber cut him off. The curling iron had pulled from the outlet in the bathroom, the cord dragging around the floor, but it was still hot enough to inflict damage.  
  
"Better keep your little mouth shut," Bray shouted. He held BJ and Brady closer to him. They were trembling, trying to pull his hands from their faces.  
  
"Bray this has nothing to do with the kids. Please, we can talk if you just let them go," Amber pleaded. Her voice was strong, full of the girl she had once been. Bray hated her now because he had recognized the return more than he ever had.  
  
"I told you to keep your mouth shut!" He roared, his voice echoing off the walls.  
  
Amber took a deep breath. "The old Bray wouldn't of done this."  
  
Bray's face turned into shock. Instead of replying, he stared at her with a deathly gaze. She knew if he got to her she was dead.  
  
"The old Bray is gone," Bray shot back angrily.  
  
Amber kept moving sideways. Bray kept moving toward her way. He was eyeing the curling iron like it was a pathetic toy doll.  
  
"Put the f.ucking curling iron down, Amber, and than I'll let the kids go," Bray said. He loosened the grip on BJ and Brady. They both inhaled deeply behind his looser hands. Their cries were more prevailent now they weren't stiffled.  
  
"You have to promise me that Bray. Can you?"   
  
"Put the curling iron down and the kids go free. I don't want to hurt them."  
  
Amber set the curling iron down gently on the couch behind her. Before she could think a thought, Bray threw BJ and Brady hard behind him and ran to Amber. He gripped her wrists so tight the circulation was cut off, and he slammed her against the wall by the door.  
  
"Bray, you said-"  
  
"I say a lot of things, don't I?"  
  
"Bray please!"   
  
"You told all of our friends. You're dead, Amber. You're dead!"   
  
Bray moved both of Amber's hands to one of his and reached into his pockets to withdraw a gun. Amber screamed.  
  
"Brady, BJ, go into Trudy's room!"   
  
"You shut the hell up!" Bray pointed the gun to the side of her head.  
  
Amber screamed again. She hated him! She hated all he had done, and now she was helpless in his power. Damn him! Damn him! Tears smeared her face, snot dripped from her nose.  
  
She screamed and screamed and screamed, and still he would not shoot her. She kicked her legs at him, even hitting him in the crotch but he wouldn't stop. The gun was pressed tightly into the side of her head. The round circle that could disperse her death forming a little dent in her skin.  
  
"You coward! Shoot me!" Amber spit into his face.  
  
He stared at her, trembling in his rage. He wiped the spit off and slapped her.  
  
Bray beat the gun three times against the side of her head. A pain so strong hit every part of her body, though oddly enough her head didn't hurt she was in such shock. She could feel blood pouring past from the broken skin. She was falling into darkness...  
  
The last things Amber heard and saw as she fell unconcious was Lex throwing the door open, Bray being smashed into the entrance wall, and the bullet meant for Amber sending bits of Trudy's apartment spraying into the afternoon sunlight.  
  
The Special Circumstance papers Lex had brought with him?   
  
They rifted from his hand and landed in a forming pool of Amber's blood.  
  
~*~  
  
When she woke up, Amber was in a bed at Tai-San's clinic. She suddenly broke from a dazed confusement to remember what had happend. She sat up quickly, no pain from the head wound hurting her.   
  
"Your up!" Tai-San barged through a wooden door, dressed in her white coat, smiling.  
  
"Tai-San! Bray came to the apartment, and Lex saved me-"  
  
"Shhh," Tai-San pushed Amber down and sat next to her. "We know. That was four weeks ago, Amber."  
  
"I've been here for a month!?" Amber cried in outrage.  
  
"Yes. I kept you on heavy sedatives so you were sleeping for the entire healing process. You've been through too much trauma for your body to take, so I thought your mind could use a little break," Tai-San said.  
  
Amber reached to the side of her head and felt a tiny bump. A tiny jolt of pain traced her nerves when she touched it, but other than that it was fine. That's why it's not hurting, she thought. It was healed.  
  
She was grateful she hadn't been awake to feel that pain the wound would have sustained. Tai-San always had been a good healer.  
  
"Where's Bray? How is Lex?" She suddenly cried.  
  
"Bray has a hearing schueduled for next week with the Civil Court, but Lex wasn't hurt," Tai-San explained.  
  
"Thank God. If..if he hadn't shown up, I would be dead," Amber whispered, Bray's hearing slipping from her mind. What she cared about was Lex.  
  
"But he did. And he has a surprise for you," Tai-San said gently. She always talked about Lex with a goodness in her eye. She held no hard feelings against him. Their romance just hadn't been the right thing for either one of them. She had her memories, and for Tai-San that was enough.  
  
"Lex is here?"   
  
"Yes. He's come to see you every night since you've been here."  
  
Amber said nothing, as Tai-San looked at her like she knew something Amber didn't and called Lex in.  
  
Tai-San gave Lex the same look as he walked in and she out. He was wearing the hat, the jacket, and khaki slacks. They looked awfully businesslike and grownup for Lex. She smiled.  
  
He rushed to her bedside.  
  
"Amber," He whispered. He sat down on the stool, and brushed the hair from her face.  
  
"Lex...I-"  
  
"You don't have to say anything," Lex said.  
  
"Why did you come? It wasn't noon yet..."  
  
"Patch granted you everything right after I told him," Lex grinned widely.  
  
"Oh my God...I'm...I-"  
  
"You're divorced," Lex said under his breath while looking deeply into her eyes.  
  
He bent down into the bed, and they kissed.  
  
~*~  
  
Readers,  
  
Getting into the Ambex here kids! I hope you enjoy this part, as the story is starting to roll from here. I love you all, and appreciate all of the support you give me to continue writing not only this, but for future fics.   
  
Hugs for all of you,  
  
~h2o 


	5. Part 1 From Conviction

Chapter Five: Part 1 -- From Conviction...  
  
"Bray Thompson did not just open the door to his old sister-in-law Trudy's apartment and start beating Amber Thompson," Rick Daniels paced the floor of the courtroom. "He was intoxicated. And not by his doing." He kept pointing in the air, like he was using his thin index finger as a wand to try to make his obvious lies truth.  
  
Amber shot a look at Bray. He was sitting across from her, with the assistant defense attorney. Amber was sitting with her own lawyer, Dan Johnson, and his assistant prosecutor, Salene. The courtroom had been a small hearing room long ago, so the space was cramped. She didn't like being so close to Bray, but Salene held her hand for support, and Lex, Trudy, Siva, Tai-San, Alice, and Pride sat in the audience. Jack was there as well, ordered by the court because he was Bray's boss. She felt overwhelmed with love.  
  
"You see, your honor, Bray Thompson has a mental illness. He is depressed. His doctor, Grant Field of the practice on 1st Street, prescribed Mr. Thompson antidepressants made from natural substances in the forest surrounding the City. Those antidepressants were full of chemicals, that, combined with alcohol, are a lethal dose into losing the control of one's actions," Rick explained, talking mainly to the judge. He was nervous trying to protect Bray by the large turnout of people in Amber's defense.   
  
Amber thought Rick's case sounded very rehearsed. She could just imagine Bray and the sleazy lawyer drinking late into the night, thinking up the elobrate story that would try to get Bray off the hook.   
  
"So why was Mr. Thomspon drinking, you ask? Because a peer at his work, The City Engineering Firm, slipped alcohol in Mr. Thompson's normal orange juice beverage at breakfast that fateful morning. That peer, Mr. John Matheson, was staying with Mr. Thompson because his wife, Mrs. Amber Thompson, was-"  
  
"Objection, your honor, the couple is officially divorced," Dan stood up, his lanky, but commanding figure, towering above Amber. She was thankful he objected. Being refered to as Amber Thompson, especially with the Mrs. on the front, made her sick.   
  
"Sustained. Mr. Daniels, please refer to the plaintiff by her proper name," The judge said authoratively. Amber hadn't been surprised to see Jet, former leader of the Gulls, as the judge of the Civil Court. Though sometimes stubborn and idiotic, Jet had always helped the MallRats with threats against the City. They had been close allies the entire duration of the tribal era.  
  
Rick coughed, and adjusted his collar. "As I was saying, Bray Thompson's colleague, Mr. John Matheson, was staying with Mr. Thompson for emotional support as he searched for his ex-wife, Amber Jennings. Because Mr. Thompson and Mr. Matheson are very inclined to do so legally, Mr. Matheson thought it would help lift Mr. Thompson's spirits by pouring a small amount of red wine into Mr. Thomspon's orange juice..."  
  
Amber stopped listening. The story was completely absurd, not to mention pathetic and unbelievably stupid. It was full of more holes than the drainer she used for all those spaghetti dinners Bray stained their carpet with in his fits. She didn't think Bray could ever stoop that low. Especially because most of his and Danni's earlier court systems at the mall had laid the foundation for these new ones.   
  
But Bray had changed.   
  
Salene nudged Amber's foot. They met eachother out of the corners of their eyes. Salene was skeptical too. She would be.  
  
The end result of the complicated fabrication was that John had spiked Bray's orange juice with wine, which had drugged him up enough combined with the antidepressants that he couldn't control his actions. He went to work where he heard from another friend (Daniels didn't provide an identity for this wisp of his imagination) that Amber was at Trudy's. He was angry with her for leaving him and taking BJ, so he went to the apartment and the rest was history.  
  
When the court recessed for a lunch break, Amber's supporters congregated in the main hallway.  
  
"What a load of it!" Alice barked harshly, mainly due to the fact Bray was just leaving. By law the defendant and the plaintiff were forbidden to communicate during court procedures in or out of the courtroom. He gave Amber a threatening glare as he turned the opposite direction.   
  
"He won't win, don't worry. Jet's not stupid," Trudy hugged her.  
  
"I just want this to be over, and get on with my life," Amber stuffed her hands in her coat pockets. It was raining outside, and the cold air had blown into the City Hall, where the courts were located.  
  
"You will. We all did," Siva smiled gently. Both her and Trudy had taken work off to support her as Dee stayed behind to run the store.  
  
"Of course you will, Amber. You've gone through a lot of hell, but you always came out of it on top," Jack shrugged. Amber smiled. Jack had turned out to be a handsome man. He didn't shave a lot, so a garden of stubble was rampant above his lips and down his cheeks. He had married Ellie the year before she had married Bray, and she was pregnant with their third child.  
  
"Jack's right. All in a matter of time. But since it's lunch, should we go get something to eat?" Tai-San suggested. Amber's stomach grumbled in response. The stress made her long to stick her teeth in something that would fill her stomach fast.  
  
"I'm starving," Trudy said beside her. She offered her hand to Amber's shoulder and rubbed comfortingly. Amber put her hand on Trudy's.  
  
"What about that new vegetarian deli downtown?" Pride suggested.  
  
"God Pride, Amber wants something good and relaxing, not a bunch of leaves," Salene laughed as she and Dan walked briskly out of the courtroom.  
  
"If it's alright, I'd like to discuss the case with you, Amber," Dan said, swiftly moving in front of her.   
  
"Oh, er-- would it be a problem if you could tell me at lunch with my friends?" Amber asked sheepishly. The group stared at Dan. But unlike Rick Daniels, he was confident in his skills, and large groups didn't do much for him except exist.  
  
"Perfectly fine," Dan replied, pulling some papers from his briefcase.  
  
"Why not the new pizza place on 5th Street?" Siva said, irritated by the lack of decision.  
  
Everyone agreed, except for a sulky Pride, who was finally convinced when Salene told him about the salad bar. Pizza it was.  
  
As they walked out of City Hall, Lex slid up beside Amber and took her hand. She turned to smile at him.  
  
"You're doing good in there," Lex whispered.  
  
"I hate being so close to him," Amber confided.  
  
"I'm sorry, babe-"  
  
"Now, obviously Mr. Thompson's case is not solid at all," Dan interrupted, walking on the opposite side of her, sending a startled Trudy behind him. He shoved papers into Amber's hands.  
  
"That first page contains the defense by-laws, which are the underlying rules for all defense cases in any of the courts here. The next five pages are Bray's defense, and our rebuttal can be followed on the next fifteen--" Dan explained.   
  
Like she had stopped listening to Rick Daniels, she stopped listening to Dan. She just wanted to be with Lex and enjoy a nice lunch with her friends. Legal babble was the lowest thing on her priority list. Lex squoze her hand tightly and rolled his eyes as she interjected Dan's legal talk with random "okay"'s. Salene giggled behind her.  
  
They stepped outside, the icy wind hitting them hard. Coat hoods were pulled up and covered heads as the group seperated into different cars.  
  
"Dan, can you ride with me and Pride? I want to discuss some ideas for the rebuttal with you," Salene asked Dan loudly through the pouring rain, pulling him toward her and Pride's car. Salene had caught Amber's drift. Amber gave her the thumbs up sign as Dan agreed.   
  
"You and Lex can ride with me if you want," Jack said. Amber, who hadn't spent time with Jack in ages, agreed happily and the three ran to Jack's silver Ford Explorer.   
  
"Terrible weather," Lex muttered as he got in the front seat. Amber jumped in the back, and leaned her head against the cold window. As a child on holidays, she prefered to sit in the back seat, driving long lengths and traveling in varying degrees of weather over long distances that seperated her family from the City. She especially loved driving in the rain. She would look out the window, enjoying the cool touch of the glass as her thoughts drifted away into the gray sea of clouds above her.   
  
It had been her special time. Her mother, father, and sister dubbed the moments "Amber's Nutters" because she would remain silent for hours upon end.   
  
"Yeah," Jack said as he started the car. He backed out of the parking lot, and drove onto the main road.   
  
"Ellie stopped by a few weeks ago, when is the baby due?" Amber asked. She loved her "Nutters" but she wanted to catch up with Jack. She would have time for those later.  
  
"Two months. She's getting pretty big now," Jack's pride filled the entire car like a giant invisible marshmellow.   
  
"Your [I]family[/I] is getting pretty big now," Lex laughed.   
  
"Sure is. We're doing really good," Jack smiled warmly into the rearview mirror at Amber. She smiled back. Jack was a good man. She liked to know that. It was good to know good men existed; men who didn't send their wives to clinics or make their children fear them. Good men who helped the world.   
  
"I want to visit you guys sometime," Amber said.   
  
"We should go together-- their house is as big as the Mall," Lex exagerated.  
  
"It's a larger house. Up in old St. Mary Heights," Jack replied, like what he said meant nothing.  
  
"God, those houses were huge!" Amber said in awe.   
  
At her old school, all of the popular kids lived in St. Mary Heights. It was a rich and very exclusive development that was only "Old Money". "New Money", the second class of popular kids, lived in different developments. That didn't matter though-- if you had lived in St. Mary Heights, you were royalty. Immortal. At Christmas her dad used to drive them through the area to view the beautiful lights that the families had landscape businesses string up to decorate their houses. They had been so large and beautiful.  
  
"Believe me, it took a lot of work to fix it up. The damage after the Virus was pretty bad. Did it in maybe three years? And by ourselves, me and Ellie. On weekends and holidays. We've really worked hard to get where we are," Jack said.  
  
Another thing Amber could add to Jack's being a good man: he was humble too.  
  
"But enough about me, what about you two?" Jack turned down 5th Street.  
  
What about us? Amber thought, feeling uncomfortable. What was there to her and Lex? A visit, a divorce, a rescue, a new friendship, a kiss? A future? She didn't know, but obviously their connection had been leaked to their circle of friends. Amber wondered if Tai-San had told them she saw the two leave the clinic holding hands.  
  
"Er-"  
  
"We're..." Lex started.  
  
Jack turned red. "It's fine. I know how it feels to label stuff."  
  
"I don't know what to call it," Amber said finally.  
  
"It...well, it just [i]is[/i]," Lex shrugged.  
  
For the moment that was enough.  
  
They reached the resteraunt. Jack parked out front on the side of the street, where Alice, Siva, Trudy and Tai-San were waiting by the door. Pride, Salene, and Dan were getting out of their car. Dan and Salene were immersed in serious conversation about a biased code for building permits being passed by Aphrodite Stevens and her supporters at City Hall.  
  
"God, is Aphrodite that bad?" Amber asked as they went inside the resteraunt.  
  
"She hasn't been great," Lex said dryly.   
  
The pizza resteraunt was decorated like a Mexican hacienda. The walls were painted with a thick yellow stucco that sported random adobe windows with glazed glass. Tropical birds and cactus paintings hung from the ceilings and on the walls. It looked more like a Taco Bell than a pizza "cafe".  
  
A hostess with a bright pink nametag ("HOLA, IM SENORITA CAROLE!") escorted them to two tables. Dan and Jack pushed them together so the group could fit, and everyone sat down.  
  
"Can I get you anything to drink?" Senorita Carole took out a notepad from a black band around her waist.  
  
"Can I get a pina colada?" Siva eyed the menu.  
  
"I'm sorry, miss, we don't carry exotic beverages," Senorita Carole said matter-of-factly.  
  
"Well, sh.it, you're decorated like a goddamn Mexican rester-" Siva began when Trudy interrupted her.   
  
"We'll have waters, thanks."  
  
"Alright, two waters."  
  
"We'll have cranberry juice," Pride and Salene said at the same time. Despite their contrast in healthy living choices, they both loved the dark liquid. Their fridge was always stocked.   
  
Tai-San nodded in approval and ordered the same, Jack and Alice ordered two beers, and Lex ordered ale.  
  
"And you, miss?" Senorita Carole came to Amber.   
  
Amber studied her menu. She loved looking over the flimsy cardboard with glued paper to it. Viewing menus was like an exciting adventure to see what silly graphics resteraunts had painted their lists of food with. It seemed URSULA'S PIZZA CAFE used, of all things, medieval English knights to boast eight different types of pizzas, and three cartoon maidens to shout what was available at the salad bar. A castle housed the very small list of beverages.  
  
Amber decided to be daring.  
  
"I'd like a beer, please," She nodded boldly.  
  
"She'll have water," Tai-San called from the other end of the table.  
  
"I want beer, Tai-San," Amber gave her healer a look.  
  
"Amber, alcohol will do nothing good for your system. Your still recovering. Water, Carole," Tai-San argued, and than looked up at the waiting waitress.  
  
"It's Senorita Carole. I'll have your drinks to you in a moment," Senorita Carole tore the slip of paper off the notepad and fled through a pair of wooden doors that led to the kitchen.  
  
"She's not getting tipped," Siva muttered.  
  
"So what about the case, Dan?" Trudy asked the lawyer, who was spreading a pink cloth napkin on his lap.  
  
"Oh yes, the case. As I was saying, Rick Daniels obviously has no evidence to support his claims, and because of that, I'm sure the hearing will result in a jail sentence," Dan explained.   
  
"How long of a jail sentence, though?" Siva asked.  
  
"Mmm," Dan said in thought, "I'm guessing he'll be convicted of 1st degree Assault, and that's a month."  
  
"A month?! For beating Amber in the head with a gun? For God's sake!" Alice roared.  
  
"But wouldn't my transcripts of Amber's injuries be enough evidence for the prosecution to get him a harsher conviction?" Tai-San said.  
  
"Not necessarily. And even if the transcripts held up in court, the worst Bray could get is Intentional Assault, which is a six month prison sentence," Dan grimaced.  
  
Lex held Amber's hand under the table.  
  
"I don't want him dead, you guys," Amber said quietly.   
  
"But Amber, don't you want him to pay for what he's done?" Trudy whispered.  
  
"I want to see justice, but..." Amber stopped. She didn't know what she wanted done. What she did want was to go back to Trudy's apartment and watch an old movie with BJ; not eat, and not go back to the hearing.  
  
"They want me to, um, er-- fire him," Jack said suddenly.  
  
"Fire him from the Engineering Firm?" Lex asked.  
  
"Yeah. That's why Jet called me in today," Jack looked down at the empty plate before him.  
  
"God," Amber mumbled. She hid her face in her hand. A jobless Bray was too stressful to think about.  
  
The doors leading to the kitchen burst open, and Senorita Carole pushed a large green cart out that contained their drinks on top, and a large pizza on the bottom.  
  
"Um, we didn't order yet," Siva said harshly.   
  
Senorita Carole gave her a dirty look. "This is the only pizza we have."  
  
"But the menu-" Trudy started.  
  
"We just opened, give us a break, lady. The menu will slowly be filled over time, but for now it's cheese," Senorita Carole grinned. Happily, she slid the steaming hot pizza off the cart and onto the table before unloading the drinks.  
  
"Have an [I]amigo[/I] meal, and remember to come back to Ursula's!" Senorita Carole chimed with bad Spanish grammar and went back into the kitchen.  
  
"This place is mad!" Lex said. Amber agreed. Her throat dry from stress, she cupped her glass of water and held it to her lips to drink just as Trudy knocked it from her.  
  
"What the hell?!" Amber cried.  
  
"Amber, look," Lex said, pointing to his ale. Large bits of dust were floating around in grimy-looking water. She felt sick. Everyone held up their glasses, because everyone had things floating in their drinks. Salene and Pride had hair they were sure was Senorita Carole's, all of the alcoholic beverages looked like they had been brewed before the Virus, and the water smelled like it was from the sewer.  
  
"Look at the pizza!" Tai-San gasped.  
  
The pizza was not baked, and the cheese on top was moldy.  
  
"Jesus Christ!" Salene rolled her eyes.  
  
"Aren't resteraunts supposed to have permits before they open from City Hall inspections?" Amber sighed, her hunger dieing insantly.  
  
"Yes. This is a public health danger-- it should be reported," Dan said.  
  
"Like that would do anything. Aphrodite's administration would blow it off like they have everything else!" Pride shouted, banging his fist on the table.  
  
"Let's just get out of here," Amber whispered so loudly that everyone heard her. Quietly, they left Ursula's Pizza Cafe.  
  
They left no tip.  
  
~*~  
  
"Quite the day," Trudy said.  
  
It was night. They had just gotten home after spending all day at the hearing. Amber collapsed on the sofa in drowsiness.  
  
"I'm so tired," Her muffled voice came from the pillows where she had buried her face.  
  
"I called Dee, and she's going to watch the kids tonight," Trudy said. She brought two steaming mugs of hot tea out from the kitchen and joined Amber on the couch.  
  
"That's nice of her," Amber yawned, sitting up. She took the mug, the heat tracing her fingers and meeting her palm's center.  
  
"I told her the hearing didn't go so well," Trudy frowned.  
  
"At least I'm divorced," Amber said dryly. As long as he couldn't touch her or BJ, she was fine with whatever he was doing.  
  
Bray had been sentenced to one month in jail for 1st degree Assault. Jet warned him to stay away from Amber, and after the hearing was ajourned, she spoke privately with her and urged Amber to get a restraining order. Amber said she would think about it.  
  
But what would a piece of paper that said "Stay Away!" do to protect her? Nothing. Paper was easy to tear, promises were easy to break. She just wanted to be away from him. At least the divorce didn't tie them together anymore, and the Article 5 law had come in place.  
  
Amber had thought about that during the rest of the hearing, and on the way home. What did she want from Bray? For him to leave her alone. Not to be in prison for the rest of his life, not to be shot, not to suffer like she had. She just wanted him to not be involved in her life. Was that so hard to ask?  
  
Trudy wrapped her arm around Amber, and the two watched GONE WITH THE WIND on The City Network. The entire length of the movie they didn't utter a word, and when they went to bed they fell asleep as soon as they laid their heads down on their pillows.  
  
It was the best time Amber had spent with Trudy.  
  
That night she slept badly. She kept twisting and turning, her thoughts turning into bad dreams.  
  
She was at Ursula's Pizza Cafe, but it was decorated like an old McDonalds. Lex was working behind the counter, and Trudy was mopping the floor. She kept asking Amber if she could help her. Lex was throwing burgers at her. And from the backroom came Senorita Carole, holding BJ and pretending he was her daughter.  
  
The next morning, she lie awake in bed, delirious and tired when Trudy knocked on her door.  
  
"Amber, are you awake?"   
  
Groggily, she shoved the covers away and opened the door.  
  
"Yeah, what is, Trude?"  
  
"I'm going to work, but I was wondering if you wanted to take me so you could take the car and look for a job today?" Trudy smiled, working to fasten an earing on her ear.  
  
A job? Amber had thought about getting one before, but had forgotten those last weeks with all of the dramatic events that had occured.  
  
"Um, yeah, I guess," Amber yawned, running her hands through her tangled hair.  
  
"K, meet me in the living room in ten minutes," Trudy said. She pulled the earing off, and was off to search for ones that fit better.  
  
Amber closed the door of the guestroom, and rummaged through the chest of drawers for her red Albertson's pajama pants and a white t-shirt. She got dressed, pulled her hair up in the bathroom, and sat on the sofa waiting for Trudy.  
  
"Is anyone accepting applicants?" Amber asked as Trudy tinkered with two pearl earings in the mirror in the hallway.  
  
"I don't know. You should go to City Hall, I think they'd know," Trudy suggested.  
  
"Aha," She smiled as the earings finally snapped on. "Let's go."  
  
Amber grabbed her purse, and the women left the house. Trudy made sure to lock the door.   
  
"You know, just in case," Trudy said quickly as Amber caught her eye.  
  
"Yeah," Amber said. They walked down the staircase and than into the parking lot. Trudy's navyblue Honda sat gleaming in the morning light.   
  
"Here's the keys," Trudy threw the silvery objects over the car as she got into the passenger seat. Amber positioned herself in the front. She hadn't driven for a while, but once she pulled out of the parking lot and started down the main road from the apartment it felt natural.  
  
"While you're at City Hall, you should file a complaint about that pizza place," Trudy laughed, spreading "Pine Nut Berry" lotion on her arms. The smell of trees filled the air.   
  
"I reckon Dan already has," Amber looked in the rearview mirror as the policeman directing traffic made the sign with his arm that meant go.  
  
"That was nice of Salene and him to volunteer to defend you," Trudy looked out the window.  
  
"Yeah, I thanked Salene after the hearing was over. I love that woman," Amber smiled. Trudy agreed, and five minutes later they were at Albertson's Department Store. Amber eyed the brick building as Trudy got out.  
  
"Remember to pick up the kids after school, and good luck hunting!" Trudy poked her head through the window.   
  
"Thanks, Trude. Have a good day."  
  
As she turned onto the main road, she couldn't help but feel a prickly fear that she wouldn't find a job. After all, Dan, a man very immersed in City politics, had said that Aphrodite Stevens had messed up the entire City's rebuilding process. Did that mean the economy was in a slump too?  
  
Amber remembered Aphrodite Stevens vaguely. After the Technos came, she had been one of the few Mozzies to escape the VR labs. Instead, the Technos had used her on their CityNet television network to combat a video Amber and the MallRats had aired of Amber telling the City the truth about the VR labs. On her counter-video, Aphrodite claimed those who spoke about the VR labs were making things up, and that the resistance groups were the real terrorists.  
  
She had caused Amber a lot of grief. The VR labs were still strong in her memory. They had been horrible. She had had no control of anything, not even her own tears. At least she had that when Bray beat her. Yes, the VR labs had been evil, and Aphrodite Stevens maybe ruined a possible uprising that could have saved many lives.  
  
She felt a pang of anger toward the City Leader as she drove back to Trudy's apartment. How could she not care about the City?   
  
Even Amber remembered all of the promises Aphrodite had made during her campaign. Better schools, a better economy, more public services, "An Olympus Quality of Life" playing off the origins of her name. It had sounded good, but she had not followed through. Not at all.  
  
Amber pounded up the steps to the apartment three at a time. Maybe she should work at City Hall if she thought they were all idiots. That way she could impliment her feelings about the running of the City at meetings, and conferences and the like. Maybe she would have influence?  
  
She unlocked the door, and threw herself into the bathroom where she showered for five minutes and jumped out. She had decided now, and it made her excited: she would work at City Hall.  
  
I'm going to change things, Amber thought as she did her hair in the mirror. She decided she would borrow one of Trudy's business suits. She picked out a classy brown pants-suit. She wanted to look presentable, but not too cutesy. Who knew what she was up against?   
  
She hurried down the hallway to Trudy's very purple room and borrowed a spray of "Lavendar Honey Paradise". The perfume made her cough as it settled into her pours. Definitely not a part of her morning ritual.  
  
"Alright," Amber whispered, looking into the full length mirror beside Trudy's bed. She smoothed her front. Her hair fell straight to her shoulders, her ears dangled two golden looped earings. She had smacked on a tiny amount of soft pink lipstick, and black eyeliner under each eye.  
  
She looked classy.  
  
Ten minutes later as she walked into City Hall, she hoped they thought so too.  
  
~*~  
  
Readers,  
  
This is part 1 of Chapter 5. Part 2 will be up soon. I hope you enjoy!   
  
Plane tickets and trays of cookies for all,  
  
~h2o 


	6. Part 2 To Election

Chapter 5: Part 2 -- ...TO ELECTION  
  
"You start tomorrow," Frieda smiled.  
  
Amber shook the plump woman's hand, grinning, heart brimming, and she left the Department of Social Services.  
  
She had just gotten a job.   
  
When she had entered the shabby Department of Social Services, with it's fluorescent lights that flickered on and off and the many that didn't work at all, Amber wasn't too sure about what she was getting herself into. The woman at the entrance of City Hall had said the only positions available where in the Social Services area.   
  
Amber couldn't deny she had been intimidated by the situation. Though the MallRats were responsible for many of the philosophies City Hall based its judicial foundation upon, Amber felt for the first time the extent of the rebuilding. They had really done it. And walking down the long, big hallways with their old wooden floors that shined, but creaked when stepped on, she saw the many doors that led to the different departments, and the windows on the sides of those doors that gave Amber a slight view into the inner machine of the new world.  
  
It was almost calming, but also nerve-racking to think of the people in power. Amber hadn't had too much faith in her peers during school-- with the drinking, partying on weekends, the kids who smoked pot, the ones who led dramatic sex lives, the ones who formed creepy cults and sometimes asked her to join-- after the Virus, she wondered how in the name of God's green earth those people would be able to rebuild something resembling the lives they had once all lead.   
  
But there before her was the result, albeit it being so many years later. It had taken a while, but sh!t had been gotten together. Except, of course, for Aphrodite Stevens with her faulty policies and dishonest character. That could be fixed, but the damage she had inflicted could affect the City for ages to come.  
  
Aphrodite had been at the job interview, but not because Amber was applying. As Amber walked into the department, she heard screaming coming from a small hallway. Sheathed in the darkness of a waiting room with an empty, darkend receptionist's booth (and a very dusty all phone), Amber froze at the burst of light that crept toward her, and at the shriek of the woman who was screaming.  
  
"Jesus Christ, Frieda, how the hell are we supposed to run goddamn Social Service projects if people keep quitting!" The woman screamed. Amber covered her ears slightly, and her nervousness fell away. She cocked her head toward the hallway in curouisty. Someone was mad, and throwing a big fit.  
  
"I'm sorry, Ms. Stevens, but what do you want me to do?" A shaky, less dominating female voice sounded in response.  
  
"I want you to keep people hired! If I have to print any more City Stamps or set up any more Greek Style City Lunches it'll be your job that pays for it, Frieda Garcia. I want you posting ads in the classifieds of The Amulet, at markets, stores-- anywhere people can see. God, if everyone is so nuts about finding a job, why don't they actually look?"   
  
"Right away, Ms. Stevens, I'll write the ad now," Frieda Garcia said, this time flatly. Amber heard typing at a computer.  
  
"Good. And if there isn't at least one applicant in the next two days, you're gone," Aphrodite Stevens whispered.   
  
With a huff, a tall woman dressed in a red business suit came lumbering down the hallway. She had bright red lipstick, a pile of thick fake blonde hair upon herh ead, and boisterious breasts that didn't seem to be constricted with anything but the top of the suit.  
  
Amber froze as Aphrodite's eyes fell upon her head poked into the hallway.   
  
"Oh, I--" Amber threw herself in the path.  
  
Aphrodite looked at her strangely. "Yes...?"  
  
"I want to er-- um, you know-"  
  
A sudden flick of realization exploded in Aphrodite's green eyes. "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!"   
  
"I wanted to apply-- what?" Amber asked.  
  
"You're Amber Jennings?!" Aphrodite's face became a goofy grin. Her large lips and small teeth made her bony nose look like a cartoon character when she grinned like that.  
  
Amber felt relief spread through her.   
  
"Yes, and you must be Aphrodite Stevens?" Amber smiled gently.  
  
"Correct, correct. How are you doing?" Aphrodite held out her thin, pale hand for Amber to shake.  
  
"Good, and you?" Amber shook it. It was slimy with some type of lotion.   
  
Aphrodite must have noticed the look on Amber's face. Her happiness seemed to fade, and she pulled her hand away firmly.  
  
"Good. So you say you're applying here for a job?" Aphrodite asked, like she could care less, suddenly taking an interest in the ugly shade of maroon her elongated nails were.  
  
"Yes, I heard Social Services was hiring, and I love to serve the people," Amber grinned. She was nervous, and felt like she was being fake. She hated feeling fake.  
  
Aphrodite's smile died on her lips. A suspicious expression tingled through her face.   
  
"You always loved to help the ordinary tribal man or woman," Aphrodite said more in a tone of disgust than in admiration.  
  
"You're right, I did. I always knew the future of this City would be the people. Especially those ordinary tribal people," Amber remarked dryly. Her fake fixture went off. Aphrodite Stevens was definitely a very rude, impudent woman.  
  
"But, Amber, are you sure you want to work in the Department of Social Services? It's not good pay, you get stuck with the worst jobs-- honestly," Aphrodite's face contorted into what Amber tried to identify as concern. But instead of doing it properly, her teeth jutted out at an odd angle, and Amber noticed they had a slightly green quality to them.  
  
"The people are my passion."  
  
"I simply can't stand for it! With your brains like yours you should be helping me in my office!" Aphrodite laughed.   
  
"No, really, it's not a problem," Amber said in a tone that clearly meant she was applying at the Department of Social Services no matter what Aphrodite said.  
  
The blonde stared at her for a moment with narrowed eyes full of questions.  
  
"Alright. Good luck with your interview," Aphrodite said coldly. And before Amber could answer, she walked quickly from the hallway and into the darkness, bumping Amber's shoulder with her bony one. The door to the department opened and shut.  
  
"Hello?" A woman's head popped from the door Aphrodite had emerged from after her yelling episode. She had dark skin and her hair was in a ponytail.  
  
"Oh, hi, I'm Amber Jennings," Amber smiled and quickly walked toward the office. The woman stepped out and held out her hand for Amber to go in.  
  
It was a cold room, the weather outside hadn't been stopped by a faulty heater that putted in the corner. A large window ran the length of the wall behind a fake wooden desk with papers strewn across it, and a computer from the 1980's perched on top. Two yellow chairs sat side by side in front of the desk.  
  
"I'm Frieda Garcia," Frieda shook Amber's hand firmly, a warm smile on her face. Frieda Garcia took a seat in a light maroon swivel chair behind the desk. She was a plump woman who looked like she was in her late 20's, older than Amber. She wore spandex black pants and a black flowing shirt with red flowers growing all over it. On her ears were two silver looped earings. Her lips were painted a luscious red, and her eyes had two thick brushes of black underneath them. The room smelled like many assorted spices.  
  
Amber sat down on one of the yellow chairs.  
  
"What can I do for you, Amber?" Frieda began to type away at her computer. Probably typing the classified notice Aphrodite had barked at her for. Amber felt a pang of pity for the woman.  
  
"Um, I heard you guys were applying?" Amber crossed her legs.   
  
Frieda pushed her keyboard into the desk, and swiveled her chair to face Amber.  
  
"You..you want to apply?" Frieda asked, unsure.  
  
Amber grinned. "Yes, I do."  
  
"Okay, okay," Frieda nodded, the news sinking in. Amber thought maybe she had just saved this woman her job.  
  
"What do you need for me to d--"  
  
"Wait, aren't you Amber Jennings?" Frieda's eyes went wide.  
  
Amber laughed. "That's me."  
  
"Wow, it's an honor to meet you. Why are you applying here?"   
  
"Because I want to help the people," Amber said.  
  
"I'm sure you'd like to work in Aphrodite's office. You'd have a lot more things to do there--"  
  
"I saw Aphrodite just before I came in here, and she offered me a job. I turned it down. I want personal contact with the people."  
  
Frieda Garcia studied Amber suspciously. It must have been extremely odd to find someone who actually wanted to work with the people. Those were dark times at City Hall. Sometimes The Amulet was filled with columns about the soon to be downfall of the City's rebuilding due to Aphrodite's poor leadership skills. Other times, The Amulet was full of columns praising Aphrodite's achievements and her commitment to the City's future.  
  
"Well, I must say that that is very honorable, especially for someone with a past like yours," Frieda smiled.  
  
Despite Aphrodite's yelling, and her quickness to get things done, Amber could tell Frieda was a very confident woman who cared for the people. Unfortunately, the job she loved was in the worst department that should have been the best-- the department for the people.  
  
It was pathetic, and it disgusted Amber.  
  
Faulty leaders, broken promises, tyranny, the comfortable lives of the high class City Council elite (Amber couldn't believe the way some of them dressed and acted when she had first came into City Hall-- like they were gods straight from Aphrodite's Mount Olympus), and the unsanitary of the poor-- it was sickening!   
  
Yes, she was [i]happy[/i] she was working at the Department of Social Services. She was happy she was going to lend her good to the people who needed it most, who the government had turned it's dirty backs on.  
  
"After all of the stuff I've heard about the state of Aphrodite's dealings, and of the City's rebuilding programs-- I want to help the people who need it the most," Amber said truthfully and honestly. Frieda was moved by this woman's obvious dedication to helping others.  
  
"Yes, we have been in a slump, but Ms. Stevens tries her best-"  
  
"Ms. Garcia, I heard Aphrodite yelling at you."  
  
Frieda looked at her computer.  
  
"Aphrodite is destroying the City," Frieda finally said.  
  
"But why are they letting her?" Amber asked, frusterated.  
  
"You mean, her advisors and council? Because they only care about their own lives! Sure they preach about justice, and rebuilding, and equal rights, and laws, but honestly, they don't care at all," Frieda shook her head sadly.  
  
"Dammit, that makes me so angry," Amber rubbed her temples. A pounding started to gain a rythym in her head.  
  
"It makes us all angry. Look around you, Amber! I have a computer that's at least twenty-two years old! I have to call a technician every damn day to fix it. All of this furniture is from the basement because it was from the 1980's, there is barely any electricity in the front office, I'm the only person who works here-- go and look at other departments, especially Aphrodite's offices, and you'll see it is [i]completely[/i] different! The only places like this are the departments for the people. The people, Amber Jennings, are getting [i]f.ucked[/i]."  
  
Amber suddenly admired Frieda Garcia for her silent viligance. She could have transfered to any other department, but she had chosen to stay to help the people. The people. Not herself. And she was so passionate-- Frieda cared! She could be trusted, and most importantly she had a vision for the future.  
  
"My son is enrolled at one of the children's schools, and he's only learning how to read and basic, basic math. I went to lunch yesterday at a new resteraunt, and the place had moldy cheese and dust in their drinks just after the City Inspection!" Amber cried in her anger.  
  
For the next two hours, Amber and Frieda talked about the poor state of the City before their conversation shifted to the topic of their lives. Amber confided to Frieda the situation with Bray, and how badly she needed a job. Frieda was married with two daughters, but they lived in a bad section of town because the bad economy had just got her husband laid off.   
  
At the end of their time together, Amber was hired.  
  
She stepped out of City Hall, and did the buttons of her coat as she walked through the icy wind to Trudy's car.  
  
"Amber!" A voice called out to her as she stuck the key in the locked door. Amber turned around, and stepping down the steps of City Hall was Ebony.  
  
Amber froze slightly. Ebony? What was she doing at City Hall?  
  
"Amber," Ebony said again, this time panting slightly as she stepped into the parking lot.  
  
"Ebony?" Amber's voice broke. She clutched her purse with a deathgrip.  
  
Ebony laughed, "It's me." A soft clipclop noise emitted from high-heels as she finally walked and stood next to Amber.  
  
"How are you?" Ebony smiled.  
  
She had changed. Tall and slender, she wore a salmon-colored business suit with a white ruffled neck, complete with matching high heels. Her hair, still braided, was pulled back and tied behind her head. The only thing Amber fully recognized on her old enemy was the makeup on her face. It was straight out of the Loco times. In fact, it was the same makeup Ebony had worn during that era. The large red phoenix was rather odd for a woman dressed like she was.  
  
"I-- I'm doing good," Amber nodded, her astonishment getting the better of her.  
  
Ebony noticed Amber's nervousness. "That's great. Were you applying for a job here?"  
  
"Yes, how did you know?"  
  
"Oh, I just heard the receptionist in the front talking about it. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard your name," Ebony folded her arms, the soft satin of her suit gently folding to comply with the action.  
  
"Yeah, I heard they were hiring at the Department of Social Services," Amber said.  
  
A pained looked spread on Ebony's face. "They have been forever. That department loses more people than any other place in the City. Aphrodite sure has done a number on us all."   
  
"Why are you here?" Amber asked suspiciously.  
  
"I'm on the City Council," Ebony stated proudly.  
  
"What?!" Amber didn't bother hiding her surprise.  
  
"Look, Amber, I know you didn't like me when we were kids. But that was a long time ago. We don't even know eachother anymore," Ebony said defensively, rebounding Amber's surprise.  
  
Amber thought about that. It was true. They didn't know eachother at all now.   
  
"I--," Amber took a breath. This was hard for her to say. "I'm sorry, Ebony."  
  
The corners of the City Council woman's mouth went up like a curtain. But this time, not in a manipulative manner. Lex had changed, and if [i]he[/i] could change, why couldn't anyone else? Amber was suddenly filled with optimism that the vindictive Ebony had gone for good.  
  
"It's fine, Amber. Everyone does stupid stuff when they're kids," Ebony said.  
  
"We had to grow up fast," Amber stared at the black pavement below them.  
  
"Yeah, we did."  
  
There was an uncomfortable silence as the women stared at eachother, trying to work through their pasts in a five minute conversation. It just wouldn't work.  
  
"Well, I have to go. I got the job, so I guess I'll be seeing you around," Amber opened her car door, and got in.  
  
"Maybe we can go to lunch sometime?" Ebony said. The women said goodbye and Ebony shut the door of Trudy's car. Amber plugged the ignition with the key, and she left.  
  
~*~  
  
That night Trudy, Salene, Alice, Siva, and Tai-San took Amber out to dinner to celebrate her new job. Trudy had asked Mouse, who was living with Salene while she finished school, to babysit BJ and Brady while they went.   
  
Because of the horrific incident at Ursula's Pizza Cafe, the group decided to eat at a place they were familiar with-- Jia Chou Bu Chinese Buffet.  
  
Amber loved Chinese food. She loved sweet and sour chicken, the awesome taste, the vibrant glow of the red goo under the low hanging lights in the comfortable buffet. She would dig her spoon into the fried rice, bringing up mountains of the white substance drenched in soy sauce, so good she swallowed whole, not bothering to chew.   
  
Jia Chou Bu was one of the best places to eat in the City. It had been approved by City Hall long before Aphrodite became City Leader, so no one suspected to find nasty things in their dinners.   
  
"I forget you didn't know Ebony was on the City Council," Trudy shoved her fork into her mouth, her orange chicken trapped as she closed her lips. She closed her eyes involuntarily as she savored the food.  
  
"I was so surprised!" Amber sipped her beer from a straw.   
  
"Who wouldn't be?" Alice laughed.  
  
"Ebony has changed. She's responsible, good," Tai-San picked at her chicken salad.  
  
"Tai-San's right-- she has changed. When we were kids, she was such a little snot, but now she organizes food drives for poor kids, gives out coats during the winter in the bad parts of town, makes sure teens are keeping out of trouble. It's so unbelievable, me and Java still have to pinch ourselves to believe it," Siva stabbed three pieces of sweet and sour pork at once, and leaned in over her plate as the sauce dribbled.  
  
"I've seen the stuff she's written about youth and laws she's trying to get passed for after school programs. It's really admirable," Salene nodded.  
  
"If Lex can change, Ebony can change," Trudy laughed, swallowing another piece of chicken.  
  
"That's what I thought when Ebony was acting so nice," Amber said.  
  
"But so you heard Aphrodite yelling at your boss?" Alice wiped her mouth with a cloth napkin.  
  
"Yeah, it was so weird. I was walking into the Department of Social Services, and I was kind of stunned because some lights worked, and others didn't, and I was heading down the hallway and I heard shouting. She was yelling at Frieda because no one wanted to work for the department. She said if she didn't get an applicant in the next two days, Frieda was gone," Amber glared at her fried rice. Talking about Aphrodite made anger sizzle through her veins.  
  
"God that's so horrible," Tai-San said.  
  
"I can't believe she threatens people like that," Salene said, a disgruntled look on her face.  
  
"You should see Frieda's passion. I only met her today, but I could just sense it, I knew it, after our conversation. I think that together we'll do it, you guys. We'll make a difference for the people," Amber said, gazing into Siva's drink.  
  
"I hope so, babe," Alice said.  
  
"What's your position anyway?" Trudy asked.  
  
"What will you do there?" Siva joined. She pushed her plate away from her, finished.  
  
"I bet you won't have an official title or do only one thing if two people work in the entire department," Salene said knowingly, finishing the last of her food.  
  
"I think you're right, Sal. Frieda didn't really tell me anything except a lot of people never stayed around, and that I was hired," Amber shrugged. She swallowed the last piece of sweet and sour chicken, her stomach opening up to take the small piece of meat before closing for the night. She was full.  
  
"When do you start?" Tai-San cracked open her fortune cookie.  
  
"Tomorrow," Amber bit her lip. She hoped she wouldn't walk away from the job too. But Frieda had said Amber cared about the people, not in a fake sense, but a real one; and that the people before didn't have the passion she did.  
  
She would stay. Not for Frieda, she would not leave if things got bad-- the people were the highest of importance, and for them and their futures stay Amber would.  
  
"What does it say?" Alice rested her chin in her hands, looking at the paper Tai-San was unfolding.  
  
"Hmmm," Tai-San giggled dramatically, "Good things are yet to come."  
  
"Maybe that means you'll find a man soon," Siva winked.  
  
"I'm happy with my clinic!" Tai-San laughed.  
  
"Last time I heard herbs aren't that wonderful in the sack," Salene teased.   
  
"Last time I heard married women didn't have little crushes on bosses named Dan Johnson," Tai-San shot back, still laughing.  
  
"Funny how this one does," Salene chortled, pointing to herself.  
  
"I want to open mine!" Trudy rummaged through the mess of napkins on the table to find her cookie. She quickly broke the hard shell, and the slip of paper fell onto her plate. She opened it.  
  
"What does it say 'Best friends will leave home soon'?," Amber laughed sarcastically.  
  
"Haha, it says 'Once there was not much, but the future is full of plentiful corn," Trudy rolled her eyes.  
  
"Bad, bad writers..." Siva waved her hands at the table as if to ward off the cliche fortunes.  
  
"I guess I should open mine, as my future is just picking up," Amber took the hard "cookie" off her plate, and broke it. The white slip with pink text unfolded in her hands with the help of her fingers.  
  
"Is it bad?" Alice waited.  
  
Amber felt five pairs of eyes on her as she read the fortune.  
  
"The time is the 2nd one, 2 is for a mother and a child, and combined with that 3 is for a day that will change it all," Amber whispered.  
  
"What that mean?" Salene asked.  
  
"Fortune cookies are fortune cookies," Siva shrugged.  
  
"Yeah, I guess so," Amber smiled.  
  
They left an hour later. As all of her friends dug into their pockets for tip money, Amber secretly slipped her fortune in her purse. She could use all of the good luck she could get.  
  
~*~  
  
Amber's first day at work was chaotic.  
  
Right when she stepped into the darkened front office of the Department of Social Services, Frieda was making noises in an office across from her own.  
  
"Frieda? It's Amber!" Amber called down the hallway, in the same place where she had listened to Aphrodite yell at her new boss.  
  
"This is your office," Frieda stepped from the room. She was panting, sweat dripping down her face.  
  
"What have you been doing?" Amber stepped into the new office.  
  
"Moving all of this in here," Frieda panted.  
  
It was an identical replica of Frieda's office, complete with the 1980's computer and furniture and window-wall, except that all of it was opposite.  
  
"You moved all of this this morning?!" Amber asked, stupified. When she had walked by the office the day before it had been darkened, and she saw through the windows it had been empty.  
  
"Yup," Frieda wiped her forehead with her arm.  
  
"Frieda, I'm so sorry, I should of done all of this," Amber's face etched itself in concern.  
  
A look of shock painted Frieda's. "Amber, it's the least I could do! You're the only geniune person who has ever worked here, or will work here. Believe me, if you knew the idiots who occupied this office in the past, you would thinking nothing of this."  
  
"But-"  
  
"We have to start working. There are pens in your desk to fill out forms with, the computer memo program for memos, and the computer for everything else. Don't worry about wasting ink when you print stuff because we know how to make ink cartridges. Just conserve, conserve, conserve!  
  
Back here you will be a Social Service Administrator. Up front, in the office receptionist booth, you'll be a receptionist and you'll give out City Stamps when people come in, but make sure..."  
  
Frieda explained what seemed like 10,000 different tasks Amber would have to accomplish each day. She would work in the back with Frieda from 8:00 to noon, and than she'd switch off to the receptionist booth from one to five.   
  
As a Social Service Administrator, Amber would configure budget totals for City programs that benefitted places like homeless shelters, and soup programs, and rebuilding projects. She would decide which program needed more money, and which did not.   
  
Then she would go through a list of merchants and call them to see if they would sponser the City Stamps campaign, which substituted stamps instead of money for the people who could not afford food. Amber didn't understand the purpose of City Stamps, because whenever you spent any, at that particular store you would get a bill that you had to pay off in the next three years.   
  
It was a dead end idea. What if some people never did get jobs, and ended up getting into extensive debt? How would that help anyone?  
  
Amber also was to join Frieda to make sure The Education Foundation was properly funding the schools on Inspection tours every four months; she was to deal with families the Police Department brought to Social Services that needed a social worker, and she was to review all Social Policy Unsures-- bills, laws, amendments, anything that could change or had to do with the social system of the City.  
  
As receptionist, Amber would answer phones, hand out City Stamps and keep track of how much families spent via calls from the stores where they purchased items; she was to interview and choose to hire new applicants according to a three page list of qualifications (Amber wondered why Frieda hadn't reviewed her properly to make sure she was qualified), plus answer phones, deal with all people who came into the office, and run memos from Frieda to different departments.  
  
Needless to say, the first day of her job, which was so complicated it had no name, tired her out. When she came home from work that day, she was frusterated, tired, and angry that she had a job originially meant for ten people.  
  
"I'm so tired," Amber whispered as she collapsed on the sofa.  
  
"How was work?" Trudy came from the kitchen, a ladel in her hand, where she was making what smelled like soup and breadsticks.  
  
Amber moved to the kitchen table and told Trudy about her first day. She listed off the many jobs, and the difficult tasks.   
  
"No wonder no one wants to work there," Trudy went back into the kitchen and began stirring a big pot of simmering vegetable soup.  
  
"Tell me about it. I'm so mad, Trudy...this all makes me so mad. While I was taking Bray's fits, Aphrodite was ruining our lives. God," Amber laid her head down on the table.  
  
"It's been a while since she's been in power," Trudy said.  
  
"Hopefully she won't run again," Amber rolled her eyes so hard it hurt her head.  
  
"I have a surprise for you that should get your mind off all that," Trudy grinned as a buzzer went off. She gloved an oven mitt, and reached to open the white box, where she pulled out a tray of breadsticks.  
  
"What? Dinner will be delicious?"  
  
"That, and Lex is coming for it. He was sorry he couldn't make it last night, so he wants to celebrate with you tonight," Trudy blew on the breadsticks hard: a fatal attempt to cool them.  
  
Amber's spirit perked. She hadn't seen Lex for two days. Two days too long.   
  
"Me, Brady, and BJ are going to dinner and a movie so you two can have your little date," Trudy suddenly interjected.  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"I'm saying I'm making you guys a romantic, cozy little dinner so you can get your stuff movin' if ya know what I mean," Trudy giggled viciously. Amber laughed, and went to hug her friend. A night with Lex alone was a treasure.  
  
Amber decided to ward off the stress of work by taking a shower and getting ready.  
  
The serenity of her ritual and looking forward to the dinner, Amber felt relaxed. She dressed in a pink t-shirt with tan khaki pants, and a loose brown belt with a silver buckle that hung over the pants. Instead of straightening her hair, she ratted it to make it curly and full of body.  
  
"Amber? We're leaving, babe! Lex will be here in ten minutes and everything is on the table," Trudy knocked on the bathroom door.  
  
"K, Trude! Thanks so much for doing all of this!" Amber called back.  
  
"No problem! We'll be home later! Good luck!"   
  
"Bye mom!"  
  
"Bye Aunt Amber!"  
  
"Bye kids, love you, have fun!"  
  
The door clicked and shut, and her family was gone.  
  
After she finished doing her hair, she ran to Trudy's room to sprinkle on pinches of perfume and a quick glance in the mirror. She didn't look too formal, or too casual.  
  
But still she felt nervous.  
  
"It's Lex, Amber," She told her mirror image.  
  
"But you kissed that Lex," The mirror image replied.  
  
A knock on the door signaled Lex's arrival.  
  
Quickly patting down her clothes to make sure everything looked perfect, Amber threw herself to the door. She took a large intake of air and opened.  
  
"Hey Amber," Lex grinned.  
  
Standing against a backdrop of stars, dressed in jeans, and a white dress shirt rolled up at the sleeves and unbuttoned at the collar, with his hair hanging loosely down but shimmering in the moonlight-- for lack of a better word because she could find no other, Amber thought Lex looked hot.  
  
"Hey Lex."  
  
Lex stepped inside, and shut the door behind him. Before she could protest or say anything, Lex swept her into a kiss.   
  
"Wow," She whispered when it was over, wiping her lips, still in his arms.  
  
She felt safe there. Good. Not unsure like she was with Bray, not waiting for the monster to come out. Good. Simply, and most definitely.  
  
"Trudy made us dinner?" Lex said softly.  
  
"Yeah, it's on the table," Amber motioned.  
  
Lex took Amber's hand, and lead her to the table. He scooped her up a bowl of vegetable soup and two breadsticks.   
  
"I brought wine," He said as he put Amber's food in front of her. He had set down the bottle when he pulled the woman in for a kiss.   
  
Lex found two wine glasses in Trudy's cabinets, and he poured the liquid down each before lighting three candles on the table.  
  
"This is very romantic," Amber sipped her soup from her spoon.  
  
"We needed to celebrate your job victory," Lex munched a breadstick.  
  
Amber told him about her first day, and about the day before when she had ran into Aphrodite and Ebony. Lex agreed Ebony had changed, and that they still kept in touch. Ebony had heard from Java about Amber and Bray's relationship, and Lex was sure that Ebony went up to Amber to see if she would talk to her about it.  
  
"She needs closure about you guys," Lex said. He clinged his wine against Amber's and they both drank.  
  
"It was so long ago," Amber stared at her soup.  
  
"People hold stuff inside of them," Lex shrugged. Amber noticed he smelled distinctly of Albertson's mens cologne.  
  
"Yeah, they do," She said dryly.  
  
The two finished their delicious meal, and Lex pulled Amber out onto the balcony outside the kitchen. It was a small one, but on a chair was a stereo that Lex clicked on and a small patio table housed a thick red candle burning into the night. "Unchained Melody" by the Righteous Brothers started to play softly, and Lex held Amber against him for a dance.  
  
In that moment of perfection, of being loved and loving another, Amber let all of her thoughts and frusterations drain to the street below her. All that mattered than was Lex, and their night.  
  
Because after their dance, they fell into her bedroom. And they made love.  
  
After it was over, Amber suspected Trudy would be home soon with the kids, so the two slightly ruffled lovers watched the evening news.  
  
"Aphrodite Stevens running again for City Leader, coming up when The City News at 10 begins," A newswoman on the screen said. Cheesy music played and the woman appeared again.  
  
"City Leader Aphrodite Stevens announced her canidacy today for the election of City Leader next month. Ms. Stevens has been City Leader for four years, which brings many to wonder why she is running again. Controversey exploded at City Hall during the press conference as angry demonstrators demanded to know why Ms. Stevens' administration changed election laws so that only those with pasts in politics may run. Many of those who planned on running for the position have dropped out."  
  
"Jesus Christ," Lex shook his head in disgust.  
  
"She must have had that after I left," Amber laid her head on Lex's shoulder.  
  
"I wish someone would run against her," Lex grumbled.  
  
Amber suddenly catapulted into the air above Lex, standing over him with shock on her face.  
  
"What? Is something wrong?!"  
  
"No, no! Lex?!"  
  
"What?!"  
  
"I'm going to run for City Leader."  
  
And with that the entire course of rebuilding her life changed. 


	7. Stronger

The pancake breakfast is dedicated to pink trudy. :)  
  
Chapter Six: Stronger  
  
Amber got payed exactly a week after she started her job. With the surprisingly hefty sum, Amber didn't know if she should of been outraged City Hall employees were getting paid so much or to be grateful she had worked hard to earn good money.  
  
But she knew one thing: it was time to move out of Trudy's.  
  
"I'm going to need a campaign headquarters, and I've been staying with you so long," Amber explained to her best friend one night when they both got home from work. Amber had told Trudy about her plans to run the night Lex had come over, but Trudy was apprehensive.  
  
"Amber are you sure? It's been two months since you left Bray, and everything with you and Lex..."   
  
"I'm sure, Trudy. I'm happy my life has been picking up this fast. It's been overwhelming, but I was so ready for it," Amber said. She stood in her pajama pants and t-shirt, brushing her teeth in Trudy's master bathroom.  
  
Trudy spit in one of the double sinks.  
  
"If you think you're ready for it, I support you 100%," Trudy looked at her through the mirror.  
  
Amber put down her brush, and ducked her mouth under the faucet. She swished and spat.  
  
"Thank you Trudy," Amber wiped her mouth with a towel.  
  
Despite their many different choices in life, Amber and Trudy had a very loyal, and equal friendship. They had been there for eachother countless times, and those circumstances had tied them together. Trudy's transformation from the Supreme Mother back to Trudy, when Bray went missing during the Techno occupation, helping eachother out during the first months as MallRats after the Virus.  
  
Trudy's opinion meant everything. She was truely like a sister, not just because they had been former sister-in-laws.  
  
BJ called Trudy Aunt Trudy, and Brady called Amber Aunt Amber. The kids had even started to call Lex, who came around more and more, Uncle Lex. It was a happy family bound by the past: very strong, indeed.  
  
Put off only a little by Trudy's concern, Amber had no trouble sleeping that night. Being in the guestroom with BJ, and listening to his soft breathing sent her to dreamland in a heartbeat.  
  
The next morning, Amber's alarm clock buzzed her awake. Yawning, she jumped out of bed and woke BJ up (she wondered how he could sleep through such an evil sound blaring so loudly through the room, Amber often felt like her eardrums might explode). The two stumbled into the bright kitchen, eye's adjusting to the light, where Trudy had prepared a pancake breakfast.  
  
"Morning, sleepyheads," Trudy laughed as Amber and BJ sat down at the table by Brady.  
  
"Need any help, Trude?" Amber asked. BJ leaned against her, falling asleep again before Brady kicked him under the table. He sat up, yawning.  
  
"No, it's all done. You know how I love to cook," Trudy smiled, sitting down and putting a jar of syrup and butter from Alice's Farm on the table. A large stack of simmering hot golden pancakes sat in the middle of the wood and white tiles, next to a pitcher of orange juice and a bowl of fruit.  
  
Amber and Trudy took BJ and Brady's plates and filled them with food, and than took their own and stacked the scrumptious edibles upon the dark blue glass that Trudy had purchased at Java's Blue Towel Boutique which sold household goods. It seemed everyone was an entreupeneur those days.  
  
Amber cut into the stack of pancakes on her plate, syrup dripping down the canyon she had hacked. She shoved the forkful in her mouth, delighting in the splendid glory of the taste. No one, not even Aphrodite Stevens and her crazy cronies at City Hall, could ruin simple things like sweet and sour chicken at Chinese Buffets with groups of girlfriends or pancake breakfasts with best friends turned surrogate families.  
  
"I went to the market today, and bought an Amulet for you," Trudy filled a glass of orange juice for Brady.  
  
"You went before it was light out?" BJ asked incrediously.  
  
"I did. You know some people like to wake up early and enjoy the morning, unlike your mother," Trudy teased.  
  
"Not everyone wakes up at the crack of dawn like your Aunt Trudy, BJ. And don't you forget it," Amber said through a mouthful of pancake.  
  
Amber took the large gray paper from the table where she hadn't even noticed it.  
  
"Thank you Trudy. I appreciate it," Amber unfolded the paper, casually throwing strawberries into her mouth.  
  
"I know," Trudy grinned. She took a large swig of her juice, and poured more syrup on her pancakes.  
  
Amber opened The Amulet to the front page.  
  
Sprawled in large, black letters was the headline:   
  
APHRODITE: "I SAY WE FOCUS ON THE FUTURE INSTEAD OF WORRYING ABOUT THE PAST": THE CITY WONDERS IF THE GLORY OF OLYMPUS WILL PREVAIL IF STEVENS WINS AGAIN AFTER A MEDIOCRE 1ST TERM AS CITY LEADER  
  
by KAREN BUSHMAN  
  
Underneath the headline was a picture of Aphrodite, and an article:  
  
The City -- Aphrodite Stevens, current City Leader, announced she is running for a 2nd term in next month's election. After a brief press conference at City Hall last week, Stevens has set off a firestorm of controversey about City politics and her performance as City Leader the past four years.  
  
"When you're dealing with how to run a city, you do things viligantly and honestly-- Ms. Stevens and her administration have proved themselves unworthy of regaining the post of City Leader for a second time. It doesn't take an idiot to survey the destruction of the rebuilding process they've done," says May Adams of the City Iniative Fund, a political watchdog group.  
  
Adams plans to scower the City with the Iniative Fund for potential canidates to run against the City Leader after the Stevens administration changed city election laws three months ago.  
  
"The changing of the laws is difficult to explain, but for the most part Aphrodite Stevens has brought not only stability to the City, but a sense of pride and goodness. Go to any poor section of town and see the good that her programs like City Stamps have brought the people. They couldn't live without her," says Ben Frist of the Conservative Political Foundation, an organization that is backing most of the Stevens Campaign's financially.  
  
"Despite the torn views, it's not hard to balance the good with the bad," Political analyst and historian Randall Peterson of City Hall's Historical Advisory Commitee says. "If you look at the City Stamps program it looks like a good idea, but in the end individuals potentially end up in huge debt. These things must be looked at, and studied carefully by the City so those who vote will have a good picture of what is happening, and what canidates are aiming to achieve. The bottom line of the Stevens administration is that they have good ideas, but they don't have the people or resources to put them through properly. That's not opinion-- it's proof of the last four years."  
  
Stevens' City Stamps program gives "City Stamps" to low-income families who cannot afford to buy food on their own. Instead of money, the City Stamps buy food from volunteer merchants around the City. However, the negative aspect of the program is that these families must pay back the money spent via the stamps in three years or less. Many have been out of work for years, and those who use the program are owing more money to City Hall than the middle-income and high-income classes combined, according to a survey conducted by the Numbers Group, a stastics research lab on 1st Street.  
  
Other programs, such as "Greek Style City Lunches", weekly public soup-kitchens held in low-income sectors of the City, are also failing in funds and in attendance due to poor food quality and staunch behavior by members of the Stevens administration running the program.  
  
Many citizens with political agendas were planning on running for the slot as 5th City Leader until Stevens' administration made a change in election laws that only allow those with political backgrounds, which few in the City have, to run for office. A political background qualifies not only as being a tribal leader, but as a "contribution to the City that goes beyond uniting against past forces, or making things better for a single tribe-- it is giving all you could give, and showing responsibility while at it." The change passed City Council 1 to 30.  
  
Critics are calling the change "sickening, and cowardly" because Stevens was not suspected to win if she ran again during this next election.  
  
The outcome of the election is certainly up for grabs, but the City is asking: will the ball end up back on Mount Olympus or in the fresh new agenda of a new City Leader?  
  
Only time will tell.  
  
Amber finished reading the article (and her pancakes).  
  
"May runs a political watchdog group?" She asked Trudy skeptically.  
  
"Something like that. I haven't seen May for months, but I think Salene still talks to her. She's always doing something new," Trudy shrugged.  
  
"There's an article on the front page about Aphrodite and May was quoted," Amber said.  
  
"Huh," Trudy said like she didn't really care. She took her plate to the sink and rinsed it off.   
  
Amber flipped through the rest of the paper. Movie listings, ads, editorials ("WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A BAD LEADER DOES IT AGAIN" by Mark Fuller), tv guides, local news, national news. Suddenly something caught Amber's eye under public gatherings in the classifieds:  
  
[I]WLO MEETING  
  
Veritification needed for entrance  
  
We urge you to come if you need help  
  
6:30 PM TONIGHT AT CINEMA 4 THEATRE  
  
SECTOR 10[/I]  
  
The WLO? That was the Women's Liberation Operation, the underground project that hid abused women from their husbands. Tai-San had urged Amber to join.  
  
"Trudy, the WLO is in here," Amber whispered.  
  
Trudy walked over to Amber, and peered at the paper.  
  
"What's the WLO?"  
  
"The Women's Liberation Operation-- Tai-San wanted me to to do it. It's where abused women go underground to hide from their husbands," Amber explained.  
  
"Tai wanted you to join that?" Trudy asked with a surprised tone to her voice.  
  
"Yes, but I refused to give up my identity just to hide from Bray," Amber said bitterly. She had gained a lot of strength in the past months, and she was very proud.  
  
"They give up their entire identities? Just to hide?"  
  
"I know, that's what doesn't make sense," Amber shook her head.  
  
"Hmm, maybe you should go to this meeting," Trudy suggested.  
  
Go to the meeting? And do what?  
  
"Why? I don't need to hide," Amber said.  
  
"I know, but look at the situation: you were an abused woman, your rebuilding your life. These women could use your advice, plus you're running for City Leader. It'll give them hope," Trudy said, hand on hip.  
  
"I should, huh?" Amber said quietly. If she could go to this meeting, somehow wiggle herself in, and than convince the women to stop hiding, she could win a large support for the election. But it wasn't for votes-- it would be to help people through hells she had been through.   
  
"Yes, you should. We should both be getting our kids ready for school too," Trudy chimed.   
  
"Oh, sh[I][/I]it," Amber slapped herself on the forehead. BJ was sleeping at the table, his elbow on his syrup-ridden empty plate. Brady's head was on his lap.  
  
Amber and Trudy woke their children up, and got them ready. Trudy got ready, and drove the kids to school as Amber showered.  
  
As she curled the tips of her hair, Amber decided she would visit the WLO meeting. What was there to lose? Nothing. But she didn't want to go alone. Curling iron in hand, she took the portable phone from the kitchen and dialed Siva's number.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Why aren't you at work?" Amber teased.  
  
"Because Shoshana had the sniffles. Why aren't you at work, Miss Save the Universe?"  
  
"Because I don't work for another half hour."  
  
"Hmmm, so what did you need?"  
  
Amber explained to Siva about the meeting that night.  
  
"So will you go with me? I'll get Mouse to sit for BJ and Shoshana."  
  
"I'll go for sure. Why don't I pick you up at Trudy's at 6:00?"  
  
"K, sounds good. Thanks so much Siv," Amber said, grateful she had such good friends.  
  
"No problem, babe. See ya tonight."  
  
Amber hung up the phone, and finished doing her hair. With a final sprint of Albertson's perfume, she watched for Trudy's car to pull up out the window.  
  
Getting through all of her emotional baggage hadn't been done alone. She had had a great support network of firm, strong friends who, despite her lack of contact with, came right back to rescue her from the self-imposed exile. The WLO needed to stop the hiding the women; they needed to be a support network instead. Support was absolutely integral to the rebuilding process.  
  
A honk sounded from below, and Amber grabbed her purse and left the apartment.  
  
"I just talked to Siva," She shut the door of Trudy's car. Trudy backed out of the parking lot.  
  
"Is she going to go with you tonight?" Trudy asked.  
  
"Yeah, do you want to go?"  
  
"I would, but Brady has a dance recital."  
  
"A dance recital? At one of Aphrodite's schools?"  
  
"Rehearsals started last week. The day after the press conference," Trudy said dryly, catching Amber's eye.  
  
A dance recital? Out of the blue, right after announcing running in the election?   
  
"Good God," Amber said in disgust.  
  
"We could all use some of him about now. I think this is going to get messy, Amber," Trudy turned down the road to City Hall.  
  
"Messy?" Amber said. She was starting to get a headache.  
  
"Aphrodite isn't going to take your nomination lightly," Trudy said.  
  
Amber had dreaded anyone mentioning that. After she told Frieda about the nomination, she was excited for a few minutes and than went back to her computer. Amber could tell Frieda thought it was a lost cause; even a nuisance because both canidates worked in the same place-- City Hall.  
  
"One word of caution, Amber," Frieda said, typing away. Louis, the computer technician had left five minutes before after an entire network meltdown. Her boss was always in a negative mood after things started to work again.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"Aphrodite is going to make your life a living hell."  
  
"Dammit, Trudy, what if she [i]does[/i] make work crazy? Why can't we just be civil and live and let live?" Amber said in frusteration. Her headache grew worse.   
  
"If that's the price it takes to fix all of the damage she's caused, than maybe it's worth it," Trudy said. She pulled up to the curb, and dropped Amber off.  
  
"We'll see, Trude. Have a good day," Amber got out of the car.  
  
"Good luck," Trudy said as Amber shut the door. Trudy seemed to say that too much to her.  
  
Slightly nervous, Amber climbed the steps of City Hall with all of the other department works, City Council people, and employees. She entered through the large glass doors, but instead of taking the hallway that lead to the Department of Social Services, Amber took a different route: she was going to fill out an application for her canidacy in the City Election.  
  
Breathing hard as strangers stared at her trying to find her way, Amber tried to find the Department of City Works where she was to apply. After ten minutes, she asked a woman walking into one of the departments. It turned out that was the Department of City Works.  
  
"Oh-- well, um," Amber cleared her throat. "I'd like to fill out an application for the City Election."  
  
The woman stared at her, mouth literally hung open. "You want to do what?"  
  
"I want to run for City Leader."  
  
The woman seemed to regain her composure as what Amber said sunk into her.  
  
"Er-- okay. Follow me," The woman directed.  
  
Amber waited anxiously as the woman dug into her purse for keys and opened up the department door. Above it, in a black plate with white engravings was: THE DEPARTMENT OF CITY WORKS. The woman propped open the door with a doorstop, and motioned for Amber to take a seat across from a receptionist's chair as she flipped on the lights.  
  
The Department of City Works was a replica of the Department of Social Services. Except the lights in the City Works front office were not flickering or didn't work, and shiny computers definitely not from the 1980's sat at a series of desks behind the receptionist's.  
  
Amber sat down on the comfortable maroon-cushioned seat as the woman set her purse down and started her computer.  
  
"I'm Jane Spencer," Jane Spencer held out her hand for Amber to shake, a smile on her face. Amber sat up, and shook Jane's hand.  
  
Jane was a slim woman, with short, blonde hair that didn't need much taming. She was wearing a thin, red long sleeved shirt tucked into tan khaki pants.  
  
"I'm Amber Jennings," Amber said as Jane took her seat.  
  
Much to Amber's surprise, Jane didn't seem too perplexed about who she was. It was rather relieving.  
  
"Wondered when I'd get to meet you," Jane squinted at her computer screen, and furiously punched the keys of her keyboard.  
  
"I'm sorry?"  
  
Jane turned to look at her. "Aphrodite told everyone you got a job at Social Services last week."  
  
"Oh..."   
  
"Aphrodite's kind of crazy," Jane shrugged. She finished what she was doing at the computer and fished a form from a drawer in the desk.  
  
"You said you wanted an application for the City Election?" Jane asked.  
  
"Yes," Amber said firmly. She took the application from Jane.  
  
"Suit yourself. Fill it out like it says, and please use this pen," Jane handed Amber a blue pen with a clear sticker sealed on front that read CITY WORKS @ CITY HALL. Why didn't Social Services have pens like that?   
  
Amber scribbled in the blank spaces, and handed the application back to Jane.  
  
Jane scanned the application. "Seems everything is here."  
  
"Is that it?"  
  
"It is. Good luck in the election, Amber," Jane stood up, and shook Amber's hand.  
  
As Amber left the office, she felt Jane's eyes follow her out.  
  
~*~  
  
At 6:00, after saying goodbye to Mouse, BJ, and Shoshana, Siva and Amber arrived in Sector 10 at Cinema 4 Theatre.   
  
Sector 10 was one of the low-income sectors The Amulet had talked about. It had not been cleaned up, and was full of shabby, ran-down buildings. Old apartments dotted the empty, trashed streets, and graffiti choked every wall in sight.   
  
"God, this is like we're back to the tribal times," Amber had whispered as they drove through the eerie, quite streets.  
  
"Reminds me of the City before I joined the Technos," Siva stared out the windows.  
  
It had been hard to find the Cinema 4 Theatre. There were no maps of the entire City, and most signs that adorned buildings were broken, full of graffiti, or unreadable because of harsh weather. But five minutes to 6:30, Siva and Amber had finally found the old theatre, right in the middle of the sector.  
  
Cinema 4 Theatre was tarnished. It looked like an old woman who had seen too much-- with gray brick, and a large peeling sign over the old movie marquees that had yellowed, and flickered in the night. They parked in the parking lot full of battered cars, nice cars, and cars made just before the Virus. Only a few women were walking in, and they looked nervous and unsure.  
  
"Amber, how do we get in?" Siva looped her arm around Amber's firmly as she eyed the women walking in.  
  
"We talk our way through," Amber said. She walked firmly, confidently. She wanted to show these women that there was life after death.   
  
They walked up a cement sidewalk to the old ticket stand. A black woman with a green turtleneck sat in the booth, clipping off red slips of paper.  
  
"Vertification?" She said as Amber and Siva's turn came in the line.  
  
"Um, we don't have vertification," Amber said.  
  
The woman looked at her like she was an idiot. "Than you can't attend tonight's meeting."  
  
"But I was abused," Amber felt her confidence draining slightly. Telling someone she didn't know was scary-- what if they didn't believe she had overcome, and that she had even found a new love?  
  
The woman stared at Amber.  
  
"I was abused by my husband," Amber coughed. "I-- I went to my healer, Tai-San, and she told me about you guys. I didn't want to give up my identity, so I just left. I'm staying with my friend Trudy, but I rebuilt myself. I've healed from all of the wounds, I have a good job at City Hall, and I'm running for City Leader."  
  
"Wait a minute-" the woman's eyes widened.  
  
"Yes, she is Amber Jennings," Siva said dryly.   
  
A murmur slid through those behind them. The woman in the booth stared.  
  
"Wow, I'm so pleased to meet you! My husband, you may remember him-- Ethan? He was in the Eco's," The woman's voice shook slightly, a grin taking over her face.  
  
Ethan? Of course she had known Ethan! He was like a little brother when she had lead the Gaians.  
  
"Oh my God, how is he?" Amber asked, full of relief. Her confidence swept itself back inside of her, killing her nervousness.  
  
"He's good-- we both volunteer our time to help the WLO. I'm Heather, by the way," Heather nodded.  
  
"That's great, it really is. Tell Ethan I said hello," Amber smiled.  
  
"Can we get in?" Siva asked bluntly. Heather looked taken back by her.  
  
"Of course you can get in," She snapped, annoyed. She opened a drawer inside the ticket booth and took out two red slips that she clipped with a pair of rusty scissors.   
  
"Bye Amber," Heather called as she and Siva slipped into the lobby of the theatre.  
  
"God, the people you knew," Siva laughed.  
  
"I didn't know leading the MallRats and wanting a safe world would make me so well-known," Amber grinned. The two friends followed a large group of women walking into one of the theatres through the black curtains.   
  
"This is like going back to the movies," Siva said.  
  
But instead of a darkened area, and a bright screen, the two came upon two huge screens, a large stage built in front of it, and what looked like hundreds of women filling the seats of two theatres where the walls seperating them had been completely knocked out. There were three rows of seating-- a balcony, a middle balcony, and the floor. The floor seating was still filling up.  
  
"Come on, let's sit in front," Amber nudged Siva and she pulled her down the isle of crowded women.  
  
The stage was wood. It looked like it had been built with long planks with an old carpet spread out on top. In the center of the stage was a wooden podium, and women swarming around, trying to get control of things.  
  
Siva and Amber took two seats directly in front. A minute later, the meeting started.  
  
Amber's mouth dropped open when she saw Jane Spencer walk up to the podium, shuffling papers on top, and beginning the meeting.  
  
"Welcome to the Women's Liberation Operation," Jane said, "many of you know about the WLO from your doctors and healers; from your sisters, brothers, even children; some from your jobs, and others from friends. Some stumbled across on their own. Whatever way you were lead, we are here now. And you are here with us. We are all in this room tonight for one reason: because of abuse.  
  
Before the Virus, abuse and women went together like roses and love. We had the police to sort things out when our relationships got too messy, but when all of the adults died we were left to suffer. And suffer many of us did.   
  
My boyfriend at the time, Henry? He was a Loco. And every night he would come into the little apartment we shared together, full of roaches and insects, and he would beat me. Beat me until my vision was damaged, beat me until I had nothing left but tears. Beat me until one day I went to one of the makeshift markets and I traded my mother's wedding ring for a pistol.  
  
I went home. I waited, crying on the sofa, and out of my mind-- I waited for Henry. And when he opened the door, I shot the b[I][/I]astard."  
  
A muffled surprise vibrated throughout the audience.  
  
"Harsh. I know," Jane said quietly, her eyes moving to each section of women. Amber felt like Jane was speaking directly to her.  
  
"But Henry drove me over the edge, and I did what my instincts told me. I was pregnant when I killed him. I ran from the apartment, and went to the hotel where Loco headquarters was. I told Henry's friend I shot him. He hit me too, so I ran. I ran until I collapsed in an alley.   
  
That is where this woman found me," Jane pointed to a plump woman sitting on a chair on the stage.   
  
"Frieda Garcia saved my life, nursing me back to health. And together, when we found many more women to be abused, we decided we had to do something. I didn't want another woman to do what I did. To reach the point of insanity. And so the Women's Liberation Operation was formed."  
  
Amber was stunned in her seat. Frieda and Jane ran the WLO?!   
  
"And now you want answers. You want to know how to leave, what to do: you're scared for yourself, maybe for your children. But you don't have to be any more. We can give you a new life-- a new you."  
  
"No!" Amber suddenly stood up, a very small woman in the huge conjoined theatres.  
  
Jane peered over the podium down at her, surprised.  
  
Amber gulped.   
  
What the WLO was saying was wrong. The women didn't have to give up-- they had to support eachother, and fight back! They had to divorce, rebuild, get new jobs, move out, find new love!  
  
"I'm saying no, because you do not have to become a new woman to get a new life," Amber called out, her voice trembling slightly.  
  
"Do you have something to say, Amber?" Jane stared at her with cold eyes.  
  
Amber stared back with full force. "Yeah, Jane-- I do."  
  
Firmly, she strode down the isle and walked crude steps up to the stage where she stood in front of the podium.  
  
Every single eye was on her. She looked behind to see Frieda giving her a "What the hell do you think you're doing?" look.  
  
"You don't have to be someone you're not to get away," Amber spoke into the microphone.  
  
For the next two hours she recited her story. She told the theatre, her voice echoing off the walls, what had happend.  
  
She told them about Bray. She didn't doubt many remembered him. She told them about their powerful love for eachother, her death, Ebony's betrayal, Dal's death, the Chosen war, BJ's birth, the Technos, Jay, Bray once more, their wedding, the first beating, her decent into isolation.  
  
And than she told them of her decision to leave. Of Trudy's taking her in. Of Bray finding her; of his jail sentence. She told them about her job. And she told them about running for City Leader.  
  
When it was over, a distilled silence followed.  
  
"Thank you," Amber said into the microphone.  
  
The applause was so loud that Amber almost had to cover her ears. Every single woman, at least four hundred people, were clapping for her. In every single seat she had touched them all.  
  
Moved profoundly, Amber's face was streaked with tears as Siva moved up the stage, and hugged her.   
  
"Look," Amber said, pointing to Siva. "Look at my friends! The WLO needs to be a support group-- it needs to be the backbone of your rebuilding process. Don't give away your life for the one who is hurting you-- don't give them that. Instead, give yourself a future."  
  
With Siva's help, Amber walked off the stage, and they left.  
  
~*~  
  
That night, as Amber sat in bed, the bedside lamp switched on, BJ sleeping quietly, she flipped through the classifieds of The Amulet.  
  
She found an apartment.  
  
~*~  
  
"That's it, Lex," Amber set the last box of her clothes on the cluttered counter of her new apartment.  
  
Lex shut the door of Amber's new apartment with his foot, his arms full.  
  
"What's that?" Amber went to him, and slid her hands around his waist.  
  
"I thought we could have a picnic," Lex leaned in for a kiss.  
  
"At midnight in my living room?" Amber smiled, her eyes taking in Lex's face so close to her.  
  
"Your damn right," Lex whispered. He dropped the things in his arms, and moved in to kiss her.  
  
Both of them had been stressed out lately. The Police Department was straining itself over riots in the poor sectors of the City because of Aphrodite. Amber, because of the intensity that had developed at work because of the election. She was frusterated because no one talked to her-- Frieda had said nothing, and she never saw Jane. The supposed abuse Aphrodite would bestow on her hadn't occured yet.  
  
It felt good to be in Lex's strong arms. She felt loved, sexy, beautiful, and full of a vibrant energy. Amber's hands slipped to Lex's waist where she pulled Lex closer to her body.  
  
"Getting rough?" Lex broke their kissing.  
  
"You bet I am," Amber resumed it.   
  
In a daring act, her hands slid under Lex's black fitting t-shirt. She pulled the fabric slowly off as her hands arched across his smooth skin. In response, Lex reached under her shirt and started to undo her bra.  
  
The last time Amber had sex with Bray came rushing back to her.  
  
She was at home, having visited Tai-San about her injuries earlier that day. She had waited on the sofa, with her old customary glass of wine, waiting for him, dinner on the table. She hated to think of those times. They were full of so much pain. And when he had come home, he had beat her. Beat her until she was delirious and half-unconcious.  
  
Amber remembered how his strong hands had pulled up her dress. In her unconcious state, the only thing she knew was that he was touching her, and she hated him for it. She had slapped him off, but he punched her face. He punched her until she was powerless of her limbs, and could only succumb to his power over her.  
  
The rest were brief images and sounds: Bray unbuckling his pants. His erect p[I][/I]enis dissapear under her dress. His face as he looked into her eyes the entire time. And the sounds of his moaning, and her soft crying.  
  
Lex stirred under his pants. His hands rubbing her-- it was suddenly too much. It was Bray again! Amber shot off of Lex and backed away in horror.  
  
"What's wrong?" Lex panted, naked above the waist.  
  
"I can't do this!" Amber trembled. She felt an onslaught of fear conquer her mind.  
  
Lex stood up and reached for her. Amber swiped his hand away, her instincts to defend herself taking over.  
  
"Amber, what the hell is wrong?!" Lex shouted, getting angry. Amber kept swiping at the air in front of her, shaking uncontrollably, tears melting off her face.  
  
"Stay away from me! You stay away from me!" Amber held out her finger rigidly, shaking, her eyes contorted as she watched Lex's every move. If he touched her, she would kill him! Kill him!  
  
"I want to help you, Amber. [I]What is wrong[/I]?" Lex asked urgently, his fierceness dieing down. He took Amber's arm in a soft gesture.  
  
Her head exploded, all regions of her logic gone. Amber started to scream. A scream so loud that neighbors beneath her woke up in traumatic states, and people on the sidewalks could hear her. It was sharp, piercing, full of fear.  
  
"AMBER!" Lex shouted angrily.   
  
"Get out!" Amber ran to the kitchen, and shielded herself behind the counter, hiding.  
  
Lex followed her, determined not to leave her in such a state.   
  
"Babe, I want to help you. I would never hurt you," Lex whispered. He stood at the opening of the kitchen. He felt like his heart was torn to pieces as Amber rejected him.  
  
Amber crawled into a ball, grabbing her knees, snot dripping from her nose. She started to scream again.  
  
"GET AWAY FROM ME! GET AWAY FROM ME! GET THE F[I][/I]UCK AWAY FROM ME!"   
  
Lex left. At a phonebooth down the street, he called Trudy.  
  
Ten minutes later she was holding Amber in her arms as she fell asleep.  
  
~*~  
  
Lex hadn't called in over a week.   
  
It was scaring her. Amber didn't want Lex to think it was him that had caused her episode.  
  
It was the abuse she had endured. It was the thought of a man using her.  
  
As she had turned her back to her past, it came stabbing back. Violently. So violently that next morning she was so out of her element she couldn't speak until she got to work. And even then she was quiet, and shaken. Frieda had ignored her for the most part, and despite families who came in for City Stamps, she sat at her two positions at the Department of Social Services and thought about the night before over and over.  
  
Sex had brought back Bray. The only man she had ever been intimate with physically before the first time she and Lex made love. It was like her body was still Bray's territory-- his land to roam, to rule. Why couldn't she just break away and be done? Why hadn't she freaked out the first time Lex touched her?   
  
But the past was a tricky thing. It could not be erased just because of a few good turns of luck, and it would not be forgotten. Amber thought about that as she trudged through the next week, not taking phone calls, and working steadily on her campaign for City Leader.  
  
In retaliation, the new Amber wanted to fight back against the weak one. The new woman was sick of the past, so sick and tired of over-analyzing, of wonder, of what-ifs. What-ifs did nothing. Only action did things. Action benefited the poor, and made amendments to insane laws.  
  
The night after moving into her apartment, Amber called Java. Java did photography on the side as a hobby, and had agreed to do shots for Amber for her election posters. And the day after the photoshoot, she spent her lunchhour going over campaign slogans with Salene. They finally settled on one Salene said would "put all of your plans into a basket and sell them to the public." And the day after that on her lunchhour, Amber took the photos she picked from her shoot and the written slogan to Trudy's where she designed a poster on her computer. She saved it to a disk, and printed it off at a printing shop where she ordered 500 posters and 2,000 flyers.  
  
The end result was her campaign slogan on the top of her favorite picture Java had taken:  
  
IF YOU WANT TRUST  
  
IF YOU WANT A FUTURE  
  
IF YOU WANT STABILITY  
  
VOTE AMBER JENNINGS FOR CITY LEADER  
  
THINK OF TOMORROW  
  
In the photo, Amber was sitting down, her legs crossed, and her hand under her chin, staring into the camera seriously. Behind her was a ruffled white sheet from her linen closet.  
  
When she got home from work, Amber would unpack her apartment. She would watch television with BJ. She would skim markets for her own furniture. She would go shopping for food. Trudy would visit, and sit with her without saying a word, and leave without saying a word.  
  
But during all that time, Lex did not appear. 


	8. Betrayal in War

Amber hadn't spoken to Lex for a week and a half.  
  
During this time, the First Speech of the campaign had been schueduled. Amber had no idea what she would talk on. Her experience with Bray? She had earned herself a number of stares for the WLO incident when she ventured into town, or walked into her apartment--even at City Hall. Word spread like fire. Most of the looks consisted of an awe at her courage. The others showed no emotion, only shock.   
  
That didn't mean Frieda ended her silence. Instead of chatting during work like they had before, there was a dark silence in the flickering rooms of the Department of Social Services. Frieda didn't understand how Amber could put the WLO in danger, and Amber didn't understand why Frieda and Jane didn't see how wrong their methods of helping women were.  
  
There was too much going on to have to deal with Frieda on top of it. Rumors started to spread around City Hall. Amber could feel the stares of gossiping circles of workers and council peoples as she left the building to go home or for lunch. Aphrodite posters hung above every department doorway. Two hung above the Department of Social Services. Was this an intimidation ploy on Amber? It was pathetic. The posters were tacky. They showed Aphrodite in a black pantsuit, dramatically staring into the camera with large pink words:  
  
APHRODITE STEVENS  
  
THE FUTURE OR THE ONE WHO GOT AWAY  
  
YOUR VOTE DECIDES  
  
~*~  
  
One day at work a woman and a little girl walked in. It was still morning, so Amber was receptionist and City Stamp administrator.  
  
"Hello," Amber smiled and stood up at the counter. The woman eyed her suspiciously.  
  
"Can we get some City Stamps?" She barked. The girl smiled gently.  
  
"Have you filed a CS Poverty Application?" Amber smiled.  
  
"Yes," The woman said dryly.  
  
"And a recent salary pension form?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"What about an Agreement of Payment contract for your local bank tracking program?"   
  
"Dammit, I haven't filled that out," The woman smacked her forehead in frustration.  
  
"You need to."  
  
"There are too many things to do! Listen, lady, I don't have time for this-- I have two babies back at home. They need food. My boyfriend," The woman's harsh demeneaor dissapeared. She looked around the empty office to make sure no one was listening, "He took all our money. I have [I]nothing[/i] left."  
  
Amber's hatred for Aphrodite skyrocketed. This was ridiculious to block people from basic necesities because they hadn't filled out forms or papers.  
  
"Why don't we make a deal. I'll give you three sheets of City Stamps and you bring me your Agreement of Payment contract by Thursday?" Amber suggested, smiling.  
  
"What's the catch?" The woman narrowed her eyes.  
  
"You get what you need for your kids, I hopefully get my contract, but if I don't, at least your kids have food," Amber said truthfully.  
  
"Are you playing with me? Lady, please don't come back to bite me in the a[B][/B]ss," The woman pleaded.  
  
"If you don't get me that AP contract I'll be the one who gets in trouble for issuing you City Stamps in the first place," Amber shrugged.  
  
The woman finally agreed and Amber gave her the City Stamps. As the woman left the office she turned back around.  
  
"Hey, aren't you running for City Leader? Amber?" A grin replaced the tired, angry expression.  
  
"That's me alright," Amber blushed, shuffling papers.  
  
"I used to be one of Moz's cronies back in the day. But I heard about you. I admired you a lot for your principles. We looked up to you back then," The woman explained.  
  
"It was all a matter of making the new world better and more just than the old."  
  
"You have balls. Especially for going up against Aphrodite," The woman said.  
  
"I hope you win, Amber. Aphrodite makes us poor," The little girl said.  
  
Amber smiled.  
  
"Thanks for your support. It means a lot."  
  
"My vote is already cast," The woman said.  
  
As Amber closed the office that night, she smiled to herself. Even if she didn't win she would strive to make the city better. It was her duty. To rekindle her old spirit and unleash it upon the world.  
  
~*~  
  
"Bad news," Trudy said as she opened the door to her apartment.  
  
"What?" Amber's blood froze.  
  
"Aphrodite is proposing a bill to the City Council tonight about enforcing a higher educational standard to canidate qualifications for positions in city government," Trudy said fast, rushing Amber inside. Dinner, spaghetti with garlic bread and a pitcher of cranberry juice, was prepared on the table. Trudy grabbed her copy of The Amulet from the couch and read aloud.  
  
"'We need qualified leaders and that means more than defending a tribe or patronizing your own values' says current City Leader Aphrodite Stevens Monday. The City Leader speaks only to The Amulet about her bill, Proposal 449, which will be reviewed by the City Council. "Proposal 449, if passed, will require higher educational standard for canidates running for positions in city government. This means having passed to the 11th grade of high school before the Virus and current enrollment at Green College." Stevens is sixth months away from reaching Green College's two-year Lower Certificate, making her the only canidate in the upcoming City Leader election to qualify for Proposal 449.  
  
"How does she have a two-year degree when Green opened last July?" Amber asked monotone.  
  
"It's an honorary degree," Trudy frowned.  
  
"Dammit, Trude I didn't want to play war," Amber sat down at the table.  
  
"She really wants to kick you down," Trudy joined her.   
  
Amber looked out the balcony window at the evening sky. What did Aphrodite have against her?   
  
"This is the problem with politics-- lies and scandals and dishonesty and scheming! If I'm elected I will re-appoint the entire council and during re-election I'd see what the people wanted after living with me for four years instead of doing my utmost to stop the next person from getting voted in!" Amber grinded her teeth.   
  
"Have you written your speech yet?" Trudy nibbled on her garlic bread drenched in spaghetti sauce.  
  
"Eh, bits and pieces," Amber sipped her juice.  
  
They sat silent.  
  
"Maybe I should talk to Ebony about it. See what Aphrodite has against me and maybe get a few words of advice? She should know the political landscape pretty well these days," Amber suggested.  
  
Trudy grimaced. "I still don't trust her. No matter how far she has come."  
  
"But that night at Jia Chou Bu--"  
  
"I said nothing that night at Jia Chou Bu."  
  
"Come on, you think it's a bad idea?"  
  
"It's an idea. That's all I'm saying," Trudy said defensively, holding her hands up.  
  
Amber bit her lip. She would talk to Ebony.  
  
~*~  
  
The next morning Amber dropped BJ off at school and met Alice and Siva for coffee. Frieda had promised Amber a free day where she could come in or not when Amber had taken the job. She would use the offer.  
  
Amber parked her car in the lot outside the quaint shop, surprised to see not only Alice and Siva, but also Tai-San, Trudy, and Salene sitting at an outside table. What was wrong?  
  
Amber locked her car and made her way to her friends. Trudy looked up, eyebrows crinkled together, old tears dried on her face.  
  
"Amber..." Trudy hugged her friend.  
  
"What's wrong? Is it the kids?" Amber looked around at each of the women.  
  
"No, BJ and Brady are fine," Trudy shook her head as Alice handed her a tissue from the table.  
  
Amber wasn't relieved.  
  
"Amber do you remember when that Matheson man stole the transcript of your confession about Bray?" Tai-San asked calmly, though she was shaken. Amber sat down in the chair next to her.  
  
"Yes..."  
  
"John Matheson gave it to The Amulet. They published it in today's paper," Siva said bluntly.  
  
"Babe, I'm sorry," Salene whispered.  
  
Amber couldn't breath. Her hands, seemingly of their own will, moved to the paper on the table. She picked it up and threw it out in front of her.  
  
AMBER THE ABUSED: A QUALIFIED CANIDATE OR A RUNAWAY WIFE?  
  
The transcript followed with a mentioning of Amber's speech at the WLO.  
  
"I can't believe Ellie would let them print this," Alice snarled.  
  
Siva said something about how disgusting journalists were, but Amber wasn't listening. She was mortified. What would happen now? How would the City treat her now that they knew she was nothing but Bray's bitch? All she had worked for seemed to crumble into the darkness of her past, into the pools of blood that had poured from her body- drowning forever into obscurity.  
  
"I need to go," Amber said suddenly, pushing herself up.   
  
The conversation stopped.  
  
"Are you in a state to drive?" Salene asked, concerned.  
  
"Amber don't go!" Trudy called.  
  
The pleas were whispers. She only heard Bray's punches cracking her rabs, BJ's screams from his bedroom, Lex's breathing when they made love, the sound of herself crying over how ashamed she was about it all. Amber shoved the keys into the ignition and left the shop.  
  
She was going to work. There was no where else to go. She didn't want to go back home, she didn't want to go to Trudy's, she did not want to call Lex-- she wanted to not think about what had happened. To be alone before reality sank in.  
  
Amber parked hastily at City Hall and almost ran into the Department of Social Services. Frieda sat at the receptionist desk, eyes wide at the sight of Amber.  
  
"I didn't expect you today," Frieda said matter-of-factly.  
  
"I'm here," Amber almost snarled viciously. She had been so sick of Bray thinking of her as weak and pitiful; she would be damned if the rest of the City did too.   
  
"You don't need to be. I can handle the office by myself today. You go home and rest," Frieda said gently.  
  
"Wait, wait, wait," Amber backed away, disgusted, "You won't talk to me for how many days because of my speech at the WLO, but now that my story is splattered in the local newspaper it's okay for you to talk to me?"  
  
"Jane and I were angry with you. We still are. You cannot undermine our efforts-" Frieda started.  
  
"No! You listen to me, Frieda Garcia! You listen to me: I did it. I escaped Bray and I'm running for City Leader. I didn't have to hide like a rat in the darkness. The leader of our city is trying to squish me and yet I am still standing. If I can do it and still live to tell the tale, than any woman can do it," Amber shouted.  
  
Frieda sat stunned.  
  
"Wish me luck at the First Speech. It'll be great," Amber spat. With that she left the Department of Social Services and almost threw herself down the hallway, back outside, and to the parking lot.  
  
"Hey! Amber!" A voice shouted from the steps of City Hall as Amber got into her car.   
  
Ebony.  
  
Perfect, Amber thought bitterly.  
  
Emotions were throwing her in a whirlwind. She didn't understand, couldn't understand anything but her drive and her will to succeed. To show them what she was.  
  
Ebony jogged to Amber's car in her heels and navy-blue business suit. Hair and make-up the same as their first encounter.  
  
"I saw what was printed in The Amulet. I wanted to tell you how sorry I am-"  
  
"What are you doing right now?" Amber interupted, seizing the oppurtunity to ask Ebony for the advice she needed.  
  
"I was going to deliver some papers downtown and take an early lunch. You're more than welcome to tag along," Ebony suggested. Amber accepted the offer and followed Ebony to her car.  
  
An hour later, Ebony and Amber were sitting at the Matchbook Cafe Eatery thoroughly engaged in politics.  
  
"Aphrodite feels threatened by you because of your past. Publishing the article in the paper gives her power because it makes you lose trust with the City," Ebony explained over cheesecake.  
  
"But will the City actually think that? I believe there are good people out there," Amber shook her head in dismay.  
  
"Oh, no, there are. But those people are at the mercy of political propaganda. Aphrodite's plan with this transcript thing could have gone two ways-- Amber gains with the people or Amber loses with the paper. She just had to tweak it by emphasizing the fact you were an abused woman with an option to take advantage of the WLO," Ebony combatted.  
  
It made perfect sense. Aphrodite was a genius at political warfare.  
  
"You think she's smart? It's not her. It's the Conservative Political Foundation. Ben Frist from the Gulls runs it. Aphrodite hired them to run her campaign."  
  
"This is so outrageous I think the people will see through her," Amber said definitively. The people weren't dumb so as not being able to see through a fake blonde who named herself after the Greek goddess of love.  
  
"Remember the Technos? Ram controlled the City through manipulation and promise. Those are Aphrodite's techniques- destroy the opponent and vows for the future," Ebony handed her plate to the waiter.  
  
"Why does Aphrodite want to remain in power? Does she love the job that much? What is it?" Amber asked rheoterically, following Ebony's lead by handing the waiter her plate. He grinned at her and winked. She scoffed.  
  
"Power. People love power-kicks," Ebony laughed.  
  
"The story of our lives," Amber joined in.  
  
"The first true words spoken by a City Leader canidate in four years," Ebony grinned.  
  
"I've always had a knack for honesty," Amber smiled.  
  
"You sure have," Ebony said.  
  
The women paid for their meals and left.  
  
~*~  
  
The shock Amber felt at the coffee shop subsided. She understood the implications of what had occured. Now she was ready to combat the war against her during her speech. That's why she would go home and work on her speech until BJ needed to be picked up.   
  
The talk with Ebony seemed to give Amber a bounce in her step. Her will had been rejuvinated. Amber parked her car and whistled as she walked the stairs to her apartment. She fumbled with the keys and pushed her way inside to find Ellie and Trudy on her couch.  
  
"What is this? Is everyone stalking me today?" Amber said dryly.  
  
"Where have you been?" Trudy asked, throwing her hands in the air like a concerned mother.  
  
"I went to work and than to lunch with Ebony," Amber said confidently.  
  
"Oh no," Ellie whispered.  
  
"Ellie, how are you doing? What is this all about?" Amber asked.  
  
"Dammit! I knew she'd do this! I told you I warned her against it," Trudy said to Ellie.   
  
Ellie looked sick to her stomach.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"It's Ebony! Ebony sent the transcript to The Amulet and had it published because I'm on maternity leave," Ellie said sadly.  
  
"What? Are you crazy? I was with Ebony for a couple of hours- she was counseling me on politics and the campaign-"  
  
"She's lieing to you. The Conservative Political Foundation was you gone Amber!" Trudy cried.  
  
"But she was telling me that the CPF runs Aphrodite's campaign-"  
  
"Exactly. She's one of the CPF's leaders! Ben Frist is Ebony's fiance," Ellie explained.  
  
"Oh my God," Amber collapsed on the couch.  
  
Ebony had done it again. 


End file.
